Game Boy Advance

Iridion 3D

The Game Boy Advance may be the shiniest new toy on the block, but Iridion 3D is as old school as it gets. This GBA launch title delivers an enjoyable dose of classic shooter gameplay that won't earn accolades for innovation but will entertain gamers with many a mindless hour of twitchy action.

I liked Iridion 3D. It was a fun game to play and if you find it too easy there is a Hard setting that will challenge the most proficient game players. This is a nice space shooter with lots of action to keep you interested, challenged and sometimes frustrated. I would have liked to have multiplayer options but as is the game is still fun and will provide plenty of hours of enjoyment. The only groundbreaking thing about this game is that it is for Game Boy Advance and looks nice on the new platform. This may have been a bit rushed out the door but is still a good game if you like space shooters.

Some shooter enthusiasts will take Iridion for another run on the harder difficulty setting. Could anyone actually beat it in the first place? You have five lives for seven levels. That means you will have to perfect the first few levels in order to be victorious. If you continue with a password your lives are not restored. This provides a definite challenge and means you won’t win your first sitting but this is 2001, no one likes to lose that much.

This is the first GBA game I've seen that looks worlds better than a SNES title. Backgrounds and bosses will knock your socks off, which you'll then use to wipe up the puddle of pee under you. The power-ups didn't wow me and the shooting was over-simplified. It's no StarFox, but Iridion gives shooter fans a worthy GBA purchase.

Så när spelen är lika välgjorda som Iridium 3D tackar jag och tar emot. Och när jag flyger genom de Afterburner-liknande luftrummen, samlar power up-föremål till mitt rymdskepp och dör upprepade gånger hos de giftiga bossarna känner jag inget annat än ren glädje. Enda felet är att banorna inte är mer varierade.

Premier shoot'em up a voir le jour sur GBA, Iridion 3D n'apporte pas grand chose au genre. Passé la phase d'émerveillement face à sa réalisation, on se retrouve devant un titre somme toute très basique mais qui ravira les nostalgiques de la bonne époque.

Despite some flaws, the game is entertaining – which is the prime objective. It certainly will not set the high-water mark in the genre, but it does have solid graphics and is easy for anyone to pick up and play.

You shoot, you dodge bullets, and that's about it. The different kinds of power-ups are nearly indiscernible from each other, and once you get the pattern down for levels, there's nothing to come back for. Perhaps the most annoying feature of the game is that your ship takes up so much of the screen, it's all too easy to get hit by a bullet you can't see. The prospect of a 3D shooter on Game Boy Advance seemed thrilling to me, but after I've experienced the final product I think something more traditional would have been better.

Iridion 3-D--a creation of German developer Shin'en--is easily one of the Game Boy Advance's most visually impressive launch titles. While it in no way taxes the handheld's as-of-yet mostly untapped 3D capabilities, the magic that the game manages to work with its advanced 2D engine is nothing short of amazing. From a gameplay standpoint, the game falls flat, however--this shooter is made up of seven stages of mostly uninspired blast-and-swerve sequences.

Iridion has everything going for it. Awe-inspiring graphics, killer sounds, and the clichéd plotline, but the key factors are done poorly. Your ship handles like a rock, the controls seem off, and the GBA's screen just isn't up to par for a game like this. The sequel would make things better again, all thanks to a change in viewpoint and better overall programming.

In the end, it’s yet another sad case of style over substance, where so much effort was placed on presentation while everything else was tossed by the wayside. If you’re a shooting game fan, avoid this game like a plague. Even for all of you collectors out there, be prepared to waste some cash when adding this to your rare game hoard. But if you’re just looking for some quality games to add to your GBA collection, look elsewhere. Iridion 3-D offers little of it.