HSC Season 7 Week 20: River Raid II

[Ze_ro]

Important Note: This weeks competition is over and no further scores will be accepted.

 

Alone in your F-14 assault jet, you're about to understake the most explosive mission of your celebrated flying career.

 

After taking off from a sea-based carrier, you'll tear through the skies above the ocean and streak toward a river delta, where you must destroy an enemy bridge. Once past the delta, you must navigate back to the carrier and safely land. Without stopping for handshakes all around, you'll then set off on a new, more dangerous mission.

 

This is no contest for amateurs. Once airborne, you'll have to refuel in midair while outmaneuvering enemy fire. If you manage to outfuel these fearless devils by blasting them with missiles or torpedoes, you'll also win points.

 

If you don't make it, two backup planes will come to your rescue. Your missions will continue until your squadron's name is history.

 

 

Game Information

• Game Name: River Raid II
• Released By: Activision, 1988
• Left Difficulty: Your Choice - Toggles Straight/Guided Missiles
• Right Difficulty: N/A
• Game Mode: Default
• Chosen By: Mister VCS

Post your scores right here in this thread, and I will add them to the list. Remember to play the game with the recommended game mode and difficulty settings as shown above so that your scores will be consistent with everyone elses. The deadline for posting scores is Wednesday January 6th at 1:00 AM (CST).

 

Current High Scores 653,850 (toymailman) [+11] 105,750 (shadow460) [+10] 71,950 (LarcenTyler) [+9] 36,900 (Zoyx) [+8] 19,050 (Mister VCS) [+7] 13,150 (roadrunner) [+6] 11,000 (Chris Leach) [+5] Best Tips shadow460 [+2] Challenges None yet TwinGalaxies Top 3 999,999 (Todd Rogers, David B Yancey) 4500 (Brien King) (Game 1, Difficulty B)

Current Standings toymailman [175] Zoyx [137] shadow460 [110] darthkur [105] Atardi [84] Deteacher [81] CebusCapucinis [71] vjames [71] aftermac [69] Captain Beard [61] roadrunner [60] godzillajoe [56] oyamafamily [42] keilbaca [42] JacobZu7zu7 [32] Vectorman0 [29] Carey85 [29] homerwannabee [26] Hornpipe2 [25] SpiceWare [24] LarcenTyler [24] Wickeycolumbus [22] 4Ks [20] pis [19] Mister VCS [14] devwebcl [13] Nathan Strum [11] LoneWolfSeth [10] LaserHawk [10] Tr3vor [9] kote [8] Animan [6] chuckwalla [4] MIKE5200 [4] Skaarg [4] Shannon [2] jeremysart [2] vintagegamecrazy [2] sloth713 [2] jjd [2] ChrisKoopa [1] SeaGtGruff [1] Impaler_26 [1] Nati [1] disjuakifa [1]

 

Scoring Points in River Raid II

• Fighter Jet - 100 points
• Helicopter - 150 points
• Destroyer - 200 points
• Carrier - 250 points
• Water Tower - 300 points
• Building - 400 points
• Landing Strip - 500 points
• Tank - 600 points
• Bridge - 2500 points

 

Hints and Tips

The Manual

 

As always, you really should read the manual. In case you don't have the manual, AtariAge has a scanned copy and a typed copy available online. Here are the hints it provides:

• Try to enter the river channel with a full tank of fuel. Fuel is tough to
  come by at the river scene.
  
• Maintain a low altitude when flying over the river. It's easier to swoop down and pick up fuel buoys.
  
• Keep a close eye on your RADAR to locate your mission target.

 

shadow460

 

Takeoff:

Press the button and pull the stick toward you. Keep them that way until a torpedo fires. Perfect takeoff, first time, every time.

 

At Sea:

Missiles are off white like they were in the first game. Torpedoes are a faint bluish white.

Difficulty A makes the shoot and slide technique work wonders, thus it's easier to defend yourself. Difficulty B makes aiming easier, allowing for more kills. Do note that torpedoes move slower, and you can only have one missile or torpedo on screen at a time. This means that your aim with torpedoes is critical. You simply cannot be left defenseless while a wasted torpedo clears the screen. Also learn to push directly left or right without pushing the stick up or down. This will prevent crashing into the ships and also prevent unwanted torpedo launches.

Your primary targets are the gold refueling planes. Remember you must touch them, not shoot them. Shooting them scores no points.

After those, be sure to hit the big ships. They're worth the most points. Third are the small ships. Try to avoid the red planes and the choppers, shooting them only in defense.

Some of the planes and choppers cover the whole screen, some cover half, and some fly directly toward you Zaxxon style. Still others don't move at all--they hover. Those that fly toward you can still be avoided. The thing to watch for is when a hovering plane is right in front of or behind a refueling plane or a ship. If you're really low on fuel (or really low on points, I guess), you need to go ahead and take the risk. If not, skip the refueling plane and move to the next.

After a while, the red planes and the choppers will disappear. This is a section where you must avoid flak. Hit the refueling planes if possible, and once the tank is full, hit full throttle and burn for the delta.

 

In the river:

If you're good at the first game, the only thing you'll have trouble with is refueling. You will need one or two fuel buoys while you're in the river. They tend not to appear when you're flying low. Regardless, you'll want to fly as slow as fuel allows in this area because the land targets are all worth more than anything you get out to sea. The "tanks" (they look like a stack of brown squiggly lines to me) are worth the most, so after the fuel buoys, make those your primary targets. Following those are the air strips, and when you have to make a choice between something on land and something on water, hit the land targets.

Do watch out for enemies that tend to guard certain targets. Unless its a fuel buoy and you're about to run out, just ignore the targets that are guarded.

Once your altitude is above half, you can fly anywhere on the screen. If it's below, you can't fly over land.

To get the fuel, you need to be able to reach it before it gets halfway down the screen. Push the stick diagonally toward the buoy, making sure not to crash land. If you can line up vertically first, do that, then push the stick forward. Once you hear the bell, pull the stick back immediately. If there's another buoy, repeat the process if you like.

When the bridge appears, use a torpedo to knock it out. If you miss, don't worry. The bridge is the last target on the river, so from there hit the afterburner and get back out to sea where the golden planes are.

The next at sea section plays just like the one right after you took off. Fuel is critical at this point, though. You'll have to make a concentrated effort to get to the gold planes , shooting down their guards in the process.

 

Landing:

When the "calm water" (diagonal lines) appears, your carrier is close. I don't know where they got this, because in reality the water behind a carrier is very turbulent. Don't believe me? Ride a carrier during steering checks and you'll see. With four screws so big you could park at least three cars on each one and four big ol' rudders, it's gonna be choppy. I've seen it, and watched guys drive golf balls into it. I digress.

When the water changes, the button controls throttle and the y axis controls altitude only. Bring the throttle to max and climb as high as possible. This brings the tail of your jet down so the arresting hook can catch. It's best to catch the #3 wire, but you don't have to worry about wires in River Raid 2. Anyway, just as the carrier deck appears, you'll want to let off the throttle and push the stick forward. If you don't push the stick forward, you can take off and try for another pass (non landing low passes are cool to watch in real life, by the way.) Let off the throttle too soon and you wind up in the jet shop instead of on the fight deck. You have to keep the stick pushed forward until the plane stops. Once you hear the fuel being drained, you can let go of the stick. Your plane will go to the leading end of the flight deck when you land normally, so if you've ever seen a normal carrier landing, don't think you're going to crash in River Raid 2 when this happens.

 

--Zero

[Mister VCS]

10,850 Difficulty B 19,050

 

Edited January 2, 2010 by Mister VCS

[Lauren Tyler]

11,400

 

A lot more advanced than the original.

[aftermac]

A lot more advanced than the original.

 

Yeah... and I really don't like it... doesn't have the charm of the original.

[roadrunner]

4,300

 

 

 

I had alot of fun over the last 5 months or so taking part in the 2600 HSC

 

Happy New Year everybody!

Edited January 4, 2010 by roadrunner

[aftermac]

 

I had alot of fun over the last 5 months or so taking part in the 2600 HSC

 

Happy New Year everybody!

 

It's been fun competing with you in multiple HSC's!

[Lauren Tyler]

25,600.

 

Took out another bridge, but got shot down en route back to the carrier. Oh well.

[shadow460]

17,600 so far.

 

Git some!

 

77,850

87,100

105,750. Hoping to roll it but I'm not sure if I can.

 

Any challengers?

 

Perhaps I should have volunteered to fly when my ship was near Southern Iraq in 1996.

 

EDIT: For some reason this game won't run right on my Heavy Sixer. Back to the Pro System, I guess.

Edited January 2, 2010 by shadow460

[shadow460]

Tip time, thus a separate post.

 

First, it seems not many people have this game. The ROM isn't available on the main page, either. I was lucky to get my copy when I did.

 

Takeoff:

Press the button and pull the stick toward you. Keep them that way until a torpedo fires. Perfect takeoff, first time, every time.

 

At Sea:

Missiles are off white like they were in the first game. Torpedoes are a faint bluish white.

Difficulty A makes the shoot and slide technique work wonders, thus it's easier to defend yourself. Difficulty B makes aiming easier, allowing for more kills. Do note that torpedoes move slower, and you can only have one missile or torpedo on screen at a time. This means that your aim with torpedoes is critical. You simply cannot be left defenseless while a wasted torpedo clears the screen. Also learn to push directly left or right without pushing the stick up or down. This will prevent crashing into the ships and also prevent unwanted torpedo launches.

Your primary targets are the gold refueling planes. Remember you must touch them, not shoot them. Shooting them scores no points.

After those, be sure to hit the big ships. They're worth the most points. Third are the small ships. Try to avoid the red planes and the choppers, shooting them only in defense.

Some of the planes and choppers cover the whole screen, some cover half, and some fly directly toward you Zaxxon style. Still others don't move at all--they hover. Those that fly toward you can still be avoided. The thing to watch for is when a hovering plane is right in front of or behind a refueling plane or a ship. If you're really low on fuel (or really low on points, I guess), you need to go ahead and take the risk. If not, skip the refueling plane and move to the next.

After a while, the red planes and the choppers will disappear. This is a section where you must avoid flak. Hit the refueling planes if possible, and once the tank is full, hit full throttle and burn for the delta.

 

In the river:

If you're good at the first game, the only thing you'll have trouble with is refueling. You will need one or two fuel buoys while you're in the river. They tend not to appear when you're flying low. Regardless, you'll want to fly as slow as fuel allows in this area because the land targets are all worth more than anything you get out to sea. The "tanks" (they look like a stack of brown squiggly lines to me) are worth the most, so after the fuel buoys, make those your primary targets. Following those are the air strips, and when you have to make a choice between something on land and something on water, hit the land targets.

Do watch out for enemies that tend to guard certain targets. Unless its a fuel buoy and you're about to run out, just ignore the targets that are guarded.

Once your altitude is above half, you can fly anywhere on the screen. If it's below, you can't fly over land.

To get the fuel, you need to be able to reach it before it gets halfway down the screen. Push the stick diagonally toward the buoy, making sure not to crash land. If you can line up vertically first, do that, then push the stick forward. Once you hear the bell, pull the stick back immediately. If there's another buoy, repeat the process if you like.

When the bridge appears, use a torpedo to knock it out. If you miss, don't worry. The bridge is the last target on the river, so from there hit the afterburner and get back out to sea where the golden planes are.

The next at sea section plays just like the one right after you took off. Fuel is critical at this point, though. You'll have to make a concentrated effort to get to the gold planes , shooting down their guards in the process.

 

Landing:

When the "calm water" (diagonal lines) appears, your carrier is close. I don't know where they got this, because in reality the water behind a carrier is very turbulent. Don't believe me? Ride a carrier during steering checks and you'll see. With four screws so big you could park at least three cars on each one and four big ol' rudders, it's gonna be choppy. I've seen it, and watched guys drive golf balls into it. I digress.

When the water changes, the button controls throttle and the y axis controls altitude only. Bring the throttle to max and climb as high as possible. This brings the tail of your jet down so the arresting hook can catch. It's best to catch the #3 wire, but you don't have to worry about wires in River Raid 2. Anyway, just as the carrier deck appears, you'll want to let off the throttle and push the stick forward. If you don't push the stick forward, you can take off and try for another pass (non landing low passes are cool to watch in real life, by the way.) Let off the throttle too soon and you wind up in the jet shop instead of on the fight deck. You have to keep the stick pushed forward until the plane stops. Once you hear the fuel being drained, you can let go of the stick. Your plane will go to the leading end of the flight deck when you land normally, so if you've ever seen a normal carrier landing, don't think you're going to crash in River Raid 2 when this happens.

[Zoyx]

10050 - I have yet to snag a buoy... proving elusive. Figured it out.

16250

18050

29000

 

34150

Edited January 2, 2010 by Zoyx

[Zoyx]

For those in need of a ROM

 

River Raid II (1988) (Activision) a1!.bin

[Lauren Tyler]

71,950

 

Three raids completed, maybe four.

[roadrunner]

You guys are putting up some great scores! I'm up to 13,150

 

 

Edited January 4, 2010 by roadrunner

[toymailman]

I cant shoot the land targets? My best so far by not hitting any land targets.

 

50,850

Edited January 3, 2010 by toymailman

[Zoyx]

@toymailman You can hit land targets with torpedoes, not missiles.

[toymailman]

@toymailman You can hit land targets with torpedoes, not missiles.

Thanks Zoyx!

[toymailman]

Figured it out! Fun game, but after ~2hours I lost interest and became sloppy.

 

653,850

[Zoyx]

36900 - I stopped getting better.

 

[oyamafamily]

Ze_ro

The variation on "Twin Galaxies Top 3" field is WRONG for River Raid II. The CORRECT IS:

Game 1 - Difficulty B

Remember: we are playing DEFAULT mode, with difficulty A or B

[Zoyx]

I've been playing game 1. I don't think there is a game 3... is there? At work, so can't check it out.

Edited January 5, 2010 by Zoyx

[Chris Leach]

I've been playing game 1. I don't think there is a game 3... is there? At work, so can't check it out.

 

 

1st attempt 11000

2nd attempt 9050

[shadow460]

Figured it out! Fun game, but after ~2hours I lost interest and became sloppy.

 

653,850

Edited January 6, 2010 by shadow460