Raid 2020

• Title — Raid 2020 • Developer — Color Dreams • Designer — Dan Burke Frank Waung • Genre — Action Run and gun • Modes — Single-player • Platforms — NES

In 2020, the streets of America have been overtaken by drug cartels. Shadow, an elite narcotics division operative, must clear the streets of drug dealers and defeat the kingpin Pit Bull to prevent America from falling into total disorder. Shadow's missions take him to the futuristic locations of Technopolis, guarded by cyborg drug mules, and New L.A., where Shadow confronts and destroys Pit Bull.

Raid 2020 is a sidescrolling action game. The player controls Shadow, a narcotics operative who can move, fire a gun, and jump. The player's objective is to defeat enemies and collect money and drugs. The player can collect power-ups providing a variety of effects. In some levels, the player controls a vehicle, either a boat or spaceship. In these levels, the player collects items, defeats enemies, and avoids obstacles.

Raid 2020 was developed and released in 1989. Dan Burke, a college student in California, met Frank Waung, a working programmer. Burke and Waung went to a recruitment meeting for Color Dreams. Color Dreams had recently learned how to bypass 10NES, the NES's lock-out system restricting unlicensed software. The company stated they were looking for pitches from game development duos. Burke and Waung decided to pitch a game called "Drug Czar." Color Dreams accepted the pitch, although did not guarantee they would pay for the finished product. Burke and Waung worked overtime out of Waung's house coding the game in Assembly. Neither had made a game before and they found the project challenging. After six months, they delivered the game to Color Dreams and received $10,000 each. Fearing parents would be turned off by the mention of "drug" in the title, Color Dreams renamed the game to Raid 2020.