Producer: Thorn EMI
Memory Required: 48K
Recommended Retail Price: £6.95
Language: machine code
Author: Phil Snell

River Rescue might be described as an overhead scramble game. You are looking down on the river from above and, as in a scramble game, your boat moves along, or rather the banks scroll backwards. Accelerating takes the boat up to the right side of the screen in which position your reaction time has to be very good indeed. The obstacles in your path (river that is) are crocodiles, logs and small islands. These have to be dodged, although the boat is equipped with a gun. If you hit a croc it will disappear, but logs take a few shots and islands you can't damage at all.

The object of the game is to rescue a stranded party of explorers from the jungles of the northern (top) bank where they are threatened by natives. There are two jetties, one on each bank, opposite each other. Once you have picked up an explorer, you must navigate the river safely and then deposit him on the south bank jetty. You can pick up as many as six, but only one explorer per call, before letting them off on the south bank, for which exploit you receive bonus points. Shooting crocodiles also earns bonus points, and so does riding the river on the right hand side of the screen. Every time you sink you lose any explorers on board.

If you are successful, another hazard appears. Your deadly rivals are trying to stop you and their planes will fly over, dropping mines in the water which must be shot away.

COMMENTS

Keyboard positions: very good. O/A up/down, O/P left/right and zero for fire and undock from a jetty
Joystick options: Kempston, Sinclair
Keyboard play: very responsive
Use of colour: straight-forward but effective
Graphics: smooth and well drawn
Sound: good
Skill levels: gets harder
Lives: 6
Games: 1 or 2 player

An engaging and addictive game. The response to the keys is so positive that its easy to run into a bank. Stopping at a jetty is a skilled task as well. Go too fast or misjudge by a millimeter and both boat and jetty go up! The animation of the crocodiles is simply and effectively done - they are the most realistic crocs I've yet seen. Very good.

Basically a simple idea and, as is usually the case, an addictive one to play. The graphics are quite attractive, especially the title page where the RIVER RESCUE is wiped away by a shoal (is that the right word?) of crocodiles. Very neat. Excellent control response.

I liked the game very much and it works very well. It does get harder and harder as you go along, more crocodiles, more logs, bigger sandbanks and the damned rivals in their planes. Very addictive and quite original.

Producer: Thorn EMI, 48K
£6.95 (1)
Author: Phil Snell

You're in control of a river speed boat. The screen shows the north and south banks above and below, everything scrolling from right to left. You can hold the boat's position to the left (safer) side, middle or right (dangerous) side. The object is to rescue explorers from the north bank jetty and land them at the south bank jetty. As the two jetties are opposite, you can't just commute between them. The boat can take up to six explorers at a time before landing them, but if you lose the boat, you lose your explorers too. The river is infested with crocodiles, sand banks and logs, which you must avoid. If you're very good, a rival firm overflies the river dropping mines on you. More points scored for travelling at the right of the screen where your reflexes have to be very fast. A fast, addictive and original game with neat graphics. Good control key positions, joystick: Kempston, Sinclair, 1 or 2 player games. Recommended. Overall CRASH rating 74% M/C.

Producer: Thorn EMI, 48K
£6.95 (1)
Author: Phil Snell

You're in control of a river speed boat. The screen shows the north and south banks above and below, everything scrolling from right to left. You can hold the boat's position to the left (safer) side, middle or right (dangerous) side. The object is to rescue explorers from the north bank jetty and land them at the south bank jetty. As the two jetties are opposite, you can't just commute between them. The boat can take up to six explorers at a time before landing them, but if you lose the boat, you lose your explorers too. The river is infested with crocodiles, sand banks and logs, which you must avoid. If you're very good, a rival firm overflies the river dropping mines on you. More points scored for travelling at the right of the screen where your reflexes have to be very fast. A fast, addictive and original game with neat graphics. Good control key positions, joystick: Kempston, Sinclair, 1 or 2 player games. Recommended. Overall CRASH rating 74% M/C.

Memory: 48K
Price: £6.95
Joystick: Sinclair, Kempston

If you have piloted a power boat, forget River Rescue. The real thing is far more exciting than the game, by Creative Sparks, which leaves much to be desired as a commercial product.

Perhaps the most glaring fault is the complete lack of instructions. Nowhere in the program or on the cassette insert is there any indication of which keys to press to obtain joystick and two-player options; there is not even a message explaining how to start the game.

If you manage to press the appropriate keys you will be rewarded with a green background and a blue river which scrolls horizontally. You have to pilot your powerboat, avoiding crocodiles and logs, and negotiating islands and bends.

The boat has a gun which can be used to clear objects from the river if you feel aggressive. The crocodiles disintegrate immediately but the logs require three hits.

If your taste runs to Skramble without the bombs, aliens and fuel dumps you will no doubt be overjoyed to play River Rescue - assuming you can determine which buttons to press.

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K
JOYSTICK: Optional
CATEGORY: Arcade
SUPPLIER: Thorn EMI
PRICE: £6.95

Break out the binoculars, lads, and turn the boat upstream - there's people to rescue!

The river scrolls from right to left and contains logs and crocodiles, which can sink any of your five boats, as can the treacherous riverbanks. You can shoot the crocs or you can avoid them by moving up or down. The riverbanks are fairly straight but do occasionally and unrealistically jut out into the water.

Red wharfs pop up either side and turning into the north one, means a passenger is picked up. They always appear on the north, and will only disembark on the south, leaving you wondering why someone didn't just build a bridge.

Points are gained for distance of river covered, crocodiles shot and people rescued. Rescue nine passengers and you're awarded an extra boat. If you get far enough. you'll also find biplanes dropping mines into the water.

River Rescue was previously available for the Vic, Atari and TI99, but with dolphins rather than crocodiles. Shooting dolphins has evidently been seen as unethical.

It's a shame there's only one speed of play. If you want to go faster, all that happens is the boat moves to the right of the screen, giving less warning of what's coming. As for sound effects, the boat engine sounds authentic, but the loss of a boat renders an irritating raspberry.

This is one of the most addictive games I've played in a long time. Written in machine code, it has nice, smooth, rolling graphics. It can be played by one or two players and each is given five boats.

The aim of the game is to drive a speed boat up a river dodging the crocs and islands or your boat will break up and sink. The boat is armed with a machine gun which shoots the crocs or logs that are in your way. At various stages along your route you have to land the boat alongside a jetty and rescue a little man. There's one man per jetty and once you have a boat load you have to sail upstream to the next jetty. The boat can be made to move either side to side or up and down the river. There are five keys to use, Q, A, O, P and 0 to fire the gun although it is also joystick compatible.

Just when you think you are doing well an aeroplane flies over and drops mines in your way, if you don't shoot them in time you are blown up. I have to confess that I have yet to rescue all the men. It looks so easy but it's not and it keeps me occupied for hours. Graphically it's not very exciting but it is produced well.

One thing I appreciated with this game was the speed in which a new game is set up, unlike some where you get the software company's name flashing on and off the screen and a two minute song to go with it.

The game has a scoring system and points can be gained by shooting the crocs or logs. Definitely worth a trip to your local stockist to get yourself a copy.

River Rescue is priced at £6.95 and is available from all leading software stockists.