River Raid

True classics live forever.

Oh, swell memories from my childhood! Hours spent playing around my lovely Atari 2600 console did pay me some interesting technology wisdom. How could I forget my dad & I playing our very favorite Atari game of those days: River Raid, a true classic with innovative gameplay and certified entertainment. Back in the day, I had to do my chores before going to spend some quality time with the console du' jour. So, after I was done with studying my dad granted me the key to open the doors of future entertairnment. I even remember when our joysticks got so fucked up we couldn't fix them anymore, until my dad came up with the idea of customizing the sticks with actual wooden sticks made by himself. They did work and entertainment lasted until our good old Atari was packed, stored and replaced by a cool Nintendo Entertainment System, AKA, Nes. 

So, yeah years went by and both my dad and I never heard of River Raid again.  I moved on with my life and of course continued to enjoy the marvels of modern videogame consoles. However, hidden deep inside my brain in a giant storage facility of useless stuff that seems to continue expanding as  I gather more and more information for such a category.

I know nobody gives a shit about what I think and about how many lame personal life experiences I'd like to share here with you, but I just couldn't think of a better introduction for today's entry.

Activision knew fun came before high quality graphics.

Fill it up pal!

Here comes the yellow plane.

So, anyways what made me remember the great amounts of fun I gotten from the River Raid classic was the iOS edition for both the iPhone & the iPad. Airfox is the name and Activision is not in any way involved with the project. Why? I don't know, but I'm sure they'll regret it.

Airfox isn't technically 100% a bootleg game, since River Raid has long become an abandonware game. I for one, would definitely say Airfox is  a tribute game (is there any category for that?) The game comes in two editions, but before that let me tell you about the original 1982 River Raid:

River Raid is a scrolling shooter videogame and was released in 1982 by Activision for the Atari 2600, and later the Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit, C64, ColecoVision, IBM PCjr, Intellivision, ZX Spectrum, and MSX. The player controls an airplane in a top-down view over a river and gets points for shooting down enemy planes, helicopters, ships and balloons (for versions after the Atari 2600). By flying over fuel-stations, the plane's tank can be refilled. The player can shift side to side and change the speed of the plane. Sections of the river are marked by bridges. The game was programmed by Carol Shaw, one of the Activision programmers who had previously worked at Atari and then Tandem Computers.

Airfox title screen.

Airfox gameplay.

The touch controls are the next best thing dudes.

I so want one of these.

Although Atari released its Atari Greatest  iOS app that allowed to buy the 100 greatest Atari games, the app only came with games made by Atari itself, so chances of seeing other Atari classics seemed impossible, at least for that app. However with the rise in popularity of the iPhones and iPads many game developers got really interested in making games exclusively for the Apple gadgets, so began the retro fever of hundreds of bootleg games emulating old school classics, and a hundred more of original retro games being re-released for the growing iOS market.

Airfox, looks like, sounds like and feels like playing the real thing, besides,  having the chance of carrying such a classic in your iPhone wherever you go, is priceless. But, playing it on an iPad, really enhances the experience. I wish Activision gets the iOs gaming fever as many other classic videogame companies have (Namco, Capcom and Sega just to name a few)

Carol Shaw, River Raid's creator.

 Here River Raid's gameplay:

And here Airfox gameplay:

And one more special message: fuck your HD console if it ain't entertaining, HD graphics won't make any  difference.

iPhone Classic Top 10 games

Being on vacation nothing better to start a humble recommendation from this gamer servant of yours which wants to of course, guide through the 10 must have revivals designed for the wonderful evil iPhone.



Number one of the list, is the everlasting and legendary Pac-Man, created by Namco masters of creating fun games in an era where graphics and CGI where not a standard nor even an exception! Originally released in arcade format in on May the 21st of 1980 (I googled that, I'm not that lifeless) the game itself was a break through. The whole idea of a yellow being that had the ability of moving across maces feeding of some source of energy balls while escaping from colored ghosts didn't seem that bad and in fact led the game to become a legend, have sequels and thousands of imitations.

Now, on the iPhone you're getting the same exact game, with the same mono music and game screens. The added value lays where the iPhone plays its part, cause you can play with this virtual touch joystick or you can directly move pac-man by slipping your finger on the directions you want him to go.




Now, as Namco knows for sure, millions of updated fans owning iPhones would want to go further exploring classic games but with today's game programing standards so here you go:

Number two is Pac-Man Remix, an up to date 3D version of the original game with some added features such as warp teleport portals, energy booster to run faster and the 3D game screens which will  add upper and lower levels to go through when playing. Again you can play it with your finger or with the touch arrows.



Number three on the list was also a classic developed by Namco and released as an arcade game in 1982. I'm talking about Pole Position, now retitled as Pole Position Remix, the classic F1 game turned into a highly detailed 3D game with an 80's sounding soundtrack but with all the comfort of the stereo and real instruments of our current time. The game is very easy to play, and that again is because of the iPhone, cause basically you get one touch button which is the brake and to move the car you just move your iPhone to the left or to the right and that's it.  That's why classics will always be classics, you know fun over technological antics.




Number four moves us from Namco and takes to the world leading games by Capcom. The year 1984, the game 1942, a classic shooter completely redesigned for the iPhone with an outstanding set of 3D and 2D graphics with higly detailed textures and an even greater soundtrack score that some movies would love to have. The planes are moved with the iPhone as the joystick (left, right, you get the picture) and there are only a couple of touch buttons onscreen. One for shooting  a missiles rain and the other for the special mass destruction attack of each plane. BTW the game is retitled to: 1942, First Strike.





Again, as I stated some paragraphs before Namco was the go to brand for classic games in the 80's and  if you think they released family like games only, well prepare to live this 70's & 80's horror flick inspired by classic game. Splatter House, the original arcade game with no upgrades (good, cause it's music score it's awesome, it really makes feel you're into a low budget horror movie) except by the addition of an extra game item called "Splatter rush mode" where you have to kill as much zombies as you can in a two minute non stop fight. Controls are arrows and a button for attacking and other for the jumping business. Pretty good  for number five classic must have game.



Number six was recently released on the App Store and it's great, cause it sort of make you feel you're actually on an arcade center where this animé style blonde will give you some free coins to choose which classic arcades to play. So far the games available are Commando, 1942, Ghouls & Ghosts, Street Fighter II and Street Fighter II'. You have the chance of buying extra tokens (coins) so that you can keep on playing on the arcade center, and also you can buy the arcade machine you most want from the list and play on it forever and of course for free. Right now I own the Street Fighter II' arcade XD.



Number seven would be a Nintendo classic, and by that I mean the NES console from the 80's. Released also by Capcom Megaman II it's an all time classic, all the original stuff is there, and you even get to play the game on a simulated arcade machine with the classic red joystick and a couple of buttons that really make you feel on the arcade center (something that Capcom knows for sure I guess)



Number 8 is another Capcom game, but this time way newer. Street Fighter IV, just like the consoles and PC release this game really shows you how good the iPhone is on highly demanding games. Definitely this is a must, specially cause its last update added plenty of more characters, fighting scenarios and even a secret character. The game does look and feel exactly the same for the major consoles versions and you can play it with friends online and through bluetooth so that really improves the experience.



Number 9 comes from the vaults of Electronic Arts ( I know Midway created the game in case you're wondering) and boy I was pleased, since this is definitely my favorite arcade saga of all times.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, the 90's gore fighting machine is back better than ever! every character and scenario have been transformed into highly functional 3D with a combat system specially designed for the iPhone. it's easier to deal with combos and even easier to execute special powers and the "Finish Him" movements as well, thanks to the  "S" button which stands for special. Every character has combos, their original special movements, 2 Fatalities, Babalities, Friendships and even the stage Fatalities and two secret characters, plus all the Shao Khan's treasures...

Number ten was somehow hard to pick cause I had 3 games in mind for this number. The games weren't developed as they were for the iPhone a decade ago, but they are about classic recognizable characters.

Number ten part A would be Transformers G1 Awakening:




Number ten part B would be Inspector Gadget:




And number ten part C would be Knight Rider:





Stay tuned! I'll be back soon for some Nintendo Wii classics revisited and then back to Drive-in movies, horror flicks and more.