++ ### ### # # #### ### +++ # # # # # #### # # ++++ ## ### # # # # ### #++++++## # # ### # #### # # #++++++## ### ## ### ### ##### ++++ ## # # # # # # # # # +++ ### #### # # # # # ++ # # # # ### ### ##### ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * River Raid II FAQ * * Version: 1.0 * * Created: 2005/01/22 by xyzman * * xyzman [at] lue402.net.ru * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Contents: 0. Legal Notes 1. Introduction 2. Controls 3. Enemies and targets 4. Gameplay basics 5. Credits /===================/ / 0. Legal Notes / /===================/ This document is Copyright 2005 Anatoly Ivanov and is intended for private use only. You may reproduce it (this includes posting it on personal webpages) as long as i)the format and content of this guide stays unchanged; ii)you do not get any profit from this action. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. The author of this guide is no way affiliated with any of them. This guide is allowed to be posted on following non-personal websites: - www.gamefaqs.com /===================/ / 1. Introduction / /===================/ In 1988, 6 years after the success of original River Raid, Activision released its sequel called River Raid II. But, unfortunately, the game was neglected by Atari fans so the only system which RRII covered was Atari 2600 (compared to seven systems of original RR). Shame on Activision marketing team... Nevertheless, the game doesn't suck in comparison with other end-80s Atari games. 10+ types of enemies, simulation of some REAL flight elements (like take-off and landing) and challenging gameplay = not bad for 128 kbit game. So everyone who will ever play this game, won't find it waste of time. And as music of Mozart pwns one of Britney Spears, this game pwns some modern flight simulators as well. /==============/ / 2. Controls / /==============/ +-------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+ | Joystick -> Up | Elevates your plane down | +-------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+ | Joystick -> Down | Elevates your plane up | +-------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+ | Joystick -> Left | Control column left - your plane goes left | +-------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+ | Joystick -> Right | Control column right - your plane goes right | +-------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+ | Action Button | Shoots an air-air missile (for destroying | | | targets in air) | +-------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+ | Action Button + | Shoots an air-ground missile (for destroying | | Joystick -> Down | targets on ground) | +-------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+ | Game Select Button | Switches between single- and dual-player mode | +-------------------------+--------------+--------------------------------+ | Difficulty Switches | Position "A" | When launched, missiles save | | | | their horisontal position | | | | during the flight. | | | | Recommended for beginning | | | | players. | | +--------------+--------------------------------+ | | Position "B" | When launched, missiles change | | | | their horisontal position | | | | during the flight, according | | | | to your plane position. | | | | Is better for advanced players | +-------------------------+--------------+--------------------------------+ /=========================/ / 3. Enemies and targets / /=========================/ +------------+--------+------+--------------------------------------------+ | Object | Type | Pts | Description | +------------+--------+------+--------------------------------------------+ | Red Plane | Air | 100 | A jet plane which almost doesn't move. | | | | | Nevertheless, shoots missiles at you. | +------------+--------+------+--------------------------------------------+ | Helicopter | Air | 150 | A fast helicopter, which moves across the | | | | | river trying to follow your jet. Shoots | | | | | missiles at you. | +------------+--------+------+--------------------------------------------+ | Air Mine | Air | --- | Makes your plane crash when touched. You | | | | | can't destruct these. | +------------+--------+------+--------------------------------------------+ | Aircraft | Water | 200 | That grayish object you see on the water. | | Carrier | | | Does nothing except floating on water. | +------------+--------+------+--------------------------------------------+ | Large | Water | 250 | Increased version of Aircraft Carrier | | Aircraft | | | Does nothing except floating on water as | | Carrier | | | well. | +------------+--------+------+--------------------------------------------+ | Oil Barrel | Ground | 300 | A big white barrel. | +------------+--------+------+--------------------------------------------+ | Oil | Ground | 400 | Two cylindrical objects with wheels. | | Carrier | | | | +------------+--------+------+--------------------------------------------+ | Runway | Ground | 500 | A runway for planes to take off and land. | +------------+--------+------+--------------------------------------------+ | Tank | Ground | 600 | A tank. Does nothing. | +------------+--------+------+--------------------------------------------+ | Bridge | Ground | 2500 | Big bridge across the river. | +------------+--------+------+--------------------------------------------+ /=====================/ / 4. Gameplay basics / /=====================/ The idea of this game is very simple (that's why I like Atari games - all of them are based on one simple and good idea) - you're a pilot of a fighter plane, who has to destroy all the important objects of enemy's infrastructure. For every enemy object you destroy, you'll get some amount of points - the objective of game is to get the highest score possible. But the life ain't as easy - unlike harmless RR tankers and helicopters, in this game your enemies will try to shoot you down. Talking about crashes, you'll lose a life every time you touch any enemy object or run out of fuel. So be careful! As most Atari games, this one is endless. This means that you can continue it as long as you want. If you do not crash, of course. All the gameplay is divided on separate levels with one typical structure: - Take-off - Mission - Broad river without ground - Enemy's base - Broad river without ground reloaded - Landing Let's take a more detailed look on these. In order to start the mission, you have to take off successfully. To do this, hold action button to make the engine work and pull your joystick down. If all is done correctly, you will be brought to the main mission screen. If not, enjoy the nice view of your jet crashing down into water... Now, here comes the real game. You will find yourself above the river in a nice company of your flying enemies (see 3. Enemies and targets for more info). But forget about them now and take a quick look on indicators panel at the bottom of screen. You will notice a map showing your progress on this level and 3 bars labeled "Altitude", "Fuel" and "Speed". All of these characteristics will influence your gameplay and this influence will be quite considerable. First of all, you should always keep an eye on your speed. If you're moving too fast, the odds that you'll crash into some random plane or mine become very high. However, as amount of fuel burninated by your engine doesn't change when the speed changes, you can use it as your advantage when you're running out of fuel to reach next refueling plane as soon as possible. Speed doesn't influence the amount of fuel, but it does influence the altitude of your jet: the higher is speed, the lower is the altitude, and vice versa. And when your altitude is lower than 40% of maximal one(you get notified about this by blinking altitude indicator), this means that you've reached the level of ground meaning that every your contact with a ground/target on ground/ aircraft carrier will end with a crash (with a normal altitude you'll just pass these objects with no damage. You can control the altitude (and speed) by pressing your joystick handle up (for moving down) and down (for moviving up). Another thing which will bug you during the mission is amount of your fuel. It will go down constantly, and your only option is... right, to refuel. You've got two ways of doing this - using refueling plane or grabbing a fuel pack. Refueling planes have yellow color and the same direction of flight as you. As long as you're touching them, the amount of your fuel increases - so the lower is your speed, the more fuel you will get. However, if you've entered your enemy's base, this method of refueling will be unavailable. Instead use refueling packs (they look like big yellow dots with waves around them), restoring your fuel by about 1/3 of maximum. The downside of using them is that they are treated as ground-level objects, so in order to grab them, you'll have to have a low enough altitude. Now let's return to the field of battle. Your objective is to get a lot of points, so try to destroy as more enemies and targets as possible. For Air targets (see chapter 3 for more info) use air-air missiles (Action button), for Ground/Water ones - air-ground missiles. But remember one detail - destroying refueling objects (planes, fuel packs) will give you NO points, unlike in original RR. Also, try to destroy the bridge - its location is indicated on progress map, so if you're near it, slow down, or you risk to miss it. When the mission is completed, you'll be brought to the next, landing phase (you'll notice this by yourself) - indicator panel will change correspondingly: instead of progress map you'll see elevation radar and altitude indicator will be substituted with thrust one. So let's start one of the most complicated operations here - landing. First, make sure that the sea level on radar is right under two white bars in center. Then keep the thrust (use Action button) level between two bars on indicator. Now we're ready to land. Right after you've passed the beginning of landing platform, release joystick handle. Wait until jet will close its flaps (|--| on its tail will change to ----) and push the joystick up a couple of times. Now if all is done correctly, the jet will stop. If not, you'll fly up once again and after a small lap you will have one more chance. If you'll fail once again - one more try - and so on, until you run out of fuel. When you manage to land, you'll get some bonus points according to amount of fuel left. Then you'll be brought to the starting point - the circle is now complete. /=============/ / 5. Credits / /=============/ If you want to add something to the guide, express an opinion about it or simply thank me *coughsubliminalhintcough*, then e-mail me: xyzman [at] lue402.net.ru And now the time for credits: * CJayC - for creating GameFAQs back in 1995 * you - for reading this. ====22.01.2005 18:40 GMT==== ========END OF FILE=========