Features:
River Raid probably needs little introduction, as it was one of the best-selling 2600 games. You pilot a jet fighter over a never-ending series of canals, swooping from left to right, blowing up boats and choppers. Occasionally, you'll need to slow down and glide over a fuel tank -- running out of gas means a one-way trip in the drink.
The action heats up rather quickly, too. The first few levels give you a decent pace to accustom yourself to the action, but pretty soon all mercy goes out the window. You're going to have to slip around islands, blow up bridges, and slide over fuel tanks without blinking, less a sneaky chopper smash into you.
This is a very, very good port. Unlike Pitfall, River Raid uses almost the entire cell screen to display the action. The colors are almost spot-on, the sprites are excellent. The only catch, though, is the control. The touch pad is no Atari 2600 joystick. It's going to take some serious getting used to, as those of the big finger variety will find themselves crashing into the side of the river by mistake a few times.
Verdict
You know, after twenty years, River Raid is still a good game and a great shooter. JAMDAT has a nice thing going with Activision right now, porting classic 2600 games to the handset, where they can be enjoyed by classic fans and new audiences. Hopefully, JAMDAT will continue to convert these games to handsets -- such as Pressure Cooker, Spider Fighter, and Frostbite.