River Raid II picks up the formula of Activision's original —a combat plane flying nonstop upriver, dodging bridges and attacking targets while managing fuel— and expands it with new terrain types and obstacles, keeping the resource-management tension that made the first River Raid famous. It arrived several years after the original, already in a late stage of the Atari 2600's commercial life. Though it never reached the fame of the original River Raid —one of the most influential vertical-scrolling shooters of the 8-bit era—, the sequel remains a solid piece within Activision's catalog, appreciated by those who already wore out the first game and are looking for more of the same formula.
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