Iridion 3D is reminiscent of arcade shooters such as Galaga or Gradius, except that Iridion is done in over-the-shoulder third-person 3-D. The problem is that this perspective really, really hurts the gameplay. One can only wonder how much better Iridion 3D might have been had the developers chosen a more workable point of view. Your ship sometimes blocks your sightline as you shoot, and it's extremely difficult to accurately gauge distance and depth perception. Is that a small enemy that's close to my ship (maybe even about to collide with it), or is it a large one that's farther away? Are they shooting at me or are those "shots" actually distant ships? Are those enemies or part of the tunnel scenery? Another problem is the jerky control. If you're flying through a tunnel trying to kill the bad guys, you should be able to literally fly in circles. With the Game Boy Advance directional pad, squares are about all you can manage.
At least the game is extremely pretty to look at. Iridion 3D boasts one of the best graphics engines available for the Game Boy Advance, and considering the competition, that's no idle compliment. Progressing through the stages and worlds one is bombarded with beautiful scenery almost as much as enemy fire.
Yes, the game looks spectacular, and it will partially appease arcade shooter fans waiting for Game Boy Advance conversions of classics such as R-Type and the aforementioned coin-ops. It's just too important to see what you're doing in a game of this type to recommend the title to anyone but the most hard-core fans of the genre. --Andrew S. Bub
Pros: Gorgeous graphics and explosions Cons: Yo
Amazon.com Review
Iridion 3D is reminiscent of arcade shooters such as Galaga or Gradius, except that Iridion is done in over-the-shoulder third-person 3-D. The problem is that this perspective really, really hurts the gameplay. One can only wonder how much better Iridion 3D might have been had the developers chosen a more workable point of view.
Your ship sometimes blocks your sightline as you shoot, and it's extremely difficult to accurately gauge distance and depth perception. Is that a small enemy that's close to my ship (maybe even about to collide with it), or is it a large one that's farther away? Are they shooting at me or are those "shots" actually distant ships? Are those enemies or part of the tunnel scenery? Another problem is the jerky control. If you're flying through a tunnel trying to kill the bad guys, you should be able to literally fly in circles. With the Game Boy Advance directional pad, squares are about all you can manage.
At least the game is extremely pretty to look at. Iridion 3D boasts one of the best graphics engines available for the Game Boy Advance, and considering the competition, that's no idle compliment. Progressing through the stages and worlds one is bombarded with beautiful scenery almost as much as enemy fire.
Yes, the game looks spectacular, and it will partially appease arcade shooter fans waiting for Game Boy Advance conversions of classics such as R-Type and the aforementioned coin-ops. It's just too important to see what you're doing in a game of this type to recommend the title to anyone but the most hard-core fans of the genre. --Andrew S. Bub
Pros: Gorgeous graphics and explosions Cons: Your ship blocks your view It's difficult to accurately gauge depth and distance The controls aren't well suited to this style of play
Amazon.com Product Description
When a hotshot pilot returns to Earth from a deep-space mission to find that the evil Iridion Empire has taken over his home planet, he does what any natural, warm-blooded earthling would do: he starts kicking alien butt! Iridion 3-D pushes the Game Boy Advance hardware to new levels of near-3-D graphics and lustrous color in this space shooter. Players fly their SHN fighters toward oncoming hordes of aliens through seven large levels. Be sure to pick up the five extra weapons along the way, each of which can be powered-up three times, to prepare for the big-boss showdowns.
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