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Iridion 3-D
Console
Game Boy Advance
Publisher
Majesco Games
Genre
Action
Developer
Shin'en
Release Date
05/29/01
6
ESRB Rating
Everyone
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Iridion 3-D
This game while nicely made, falls short in lots of important areas.
November 14, 2003 | 10:00 PM PST

by: Bobby Missaghi

You have to give credit to Majesco, the developers of Iridion for GBA,for trying their best. Instead of porting over some old 16-bit games to thesystem, they developed an original game and took their time. This game while nicely made, falls short in lots of important areas.

While the graphics are nice, sometimes the use of color can confuse people at times. It can be very difficult sometimes to tell the difference between the background and enemies. Since there is no backlit screen on GBA,the developers need to start paying attention to the colors they use.

As expected everything runs fluidly. Since the screen isn't full ofenemies like current shooter games. The Walls in this game serve only toenclose your environment; so you can run along the surfaces at will.

The one thing that really makes Iridion shines is the looping 2D segments that makes the game look like its 3D. Along with some really cooland nice sprite effects in later levels, is what helps Iridion stand outfrom the crowd.

As expected the developers have managed robust background music ingame. The game's music is also very fast paced and will make your heart beatfaster. The thing is sometimes the music is really low and you sometimeshave to hook up a pair of headphones to hear it good.

The controls are pretty simple and straight forward. The D-pad controls the ship movements. And you will need to move around a whole lot because alot of times you can't see the enemies cause they are right in front of you.Half of the time I didn't see the enemies I destroyed. Most of the time Iwould just shoot and hope I kill them.

In terms of gameplay, your options are very limited. Actually, you only need to use one button. All you have to do is Press A and use the D-Pad.There also isn't any power ups like mega bombs and the weapon upgrades,which makes the game even more boring.

One of the biggest problems in this game is the viewpoint. If thedevelopers had taken the time to add a first person view, this game would beamazing. Yet you're stuck looking at your ship's backside, which blocks alarge portion of the screen. This results in lots of unseen deaths. Thisproblem makes this game nearly impossible to enjoy.

Most of the bosses are cool, but you're dealing with really smallquarters over the seven levels. The game is made extremely difficult and thelevels are very short. You may as well never see the ending because you willwant to turn it off and throw it out the whole time. I recommend that youstay away from this game as much as possible.
Visuals
6.0
Sound
6.0
Control
6.0
Gameplay
7.0
Lasting Appeal
6.0
Verdict
6.0
[not an average]
Review Scores Guide

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November 20, 2009
Happy Friday! Check out the new feature content we have available. Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Make sure you think about what you're most thankful for... Also, make sure you become a fan of Kombo on Facebook!!!

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