Iridion 3D - Game Boy Advance

Your ship sometimes blocks your sight line as you shoot, and it's extremely difficult to accurately gauge distance and depth perception. Is that a small enemy that's close to your 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