Programmed by David Lubar, River Raid II puts the player in control of a fighter jet tasked with flying over a river in a top-down point of view, shooting enemy vehicles like helicopters, planes, and boats. Other than dodging enemy vehicles, your primary concern is your jet's fuel level, which slowly depletes over time, and can be replenished by flying over refueling aircraft found throughout the environment. In this sequel you can fly over land. River Raid II features the forced movement as in the previous game in the franchise, you can affect the speed of the scroll with your jet however in this sequel you can control your altitude as well.