Iridion II

"A decent space shooter"

Iridion II. What can I say? I never really planned on buying this game until I saw it for 5$ at EBGames, new and in perfect condition. I thought: What's to lose? I bought it with low expectations, especially after having heard how terrible Iridion 3D was. (I'm yet to try that one.) Upon arriving home that day, I opened up the box and pulled the booklet out. This was a major turnoff. The booklet was a mere 14 pages long and was all in black & white, with nothing worth looking at inside. I still decided to give the game a chance. I wasn't disapointed.

Graphics: 10/10
Perfectly done. While simple, they look great, and the scrolling is perfectly executed, so that nothing looks out of place. The backgrounds feature small, simple horizontal pictures that are repeated constantly, all done in a 3D-looking manner, giving them a beautiful 3D look. From the sprites to the backgrounds, everything looks good here. The bosses are big and detailed, and once again, it is really the scrolling that makes the game look so good.

Audio: 9/10
The music is well composed. Each track is unique and fits the area perfectly. Before I learned that there was a sound test, sometimes I'd go in some of the levels just to hear my favorite tracks. There are at least 3 tracks that I cherish. And the rest all sound great too. The instrument quality is your average GBA fair, but with the great compositions, you won't even notice the limited sound quality. On the other hand, the sound effects are merely decent. Sure, there are something like 100 sound effects in the game, but most sound the same and feature bleeps and bloops. Remember Kirby's Dreamland 2's Sound Test Sound Effects? Where you had something like 150 sound effects, but most sounded the same? This is very similar. It's still nothing to complain about, though.

Gameplay: 5/10
Okay, so the game is addictive, it is fun, it is challenging, but that's where it ends. There are several problems here that should not have been overlooked by the developpers. I'm still confused as to why they chose to use passwords instead of game saves. This game would have done perfectly using game saves, a la Star Fox, since the game progresses through galexies. Passwords are just too primitive, and with a system like the GBA, they are uncalled for.
Another major problem was within the gameplay itself. One thing that I normally love about space shooters is how it feels like there are no limits to the amount of upgrades you put on your ship. That is because when you complete a level, you get to keep all the enhancements you acquired, as long as you didn't lose a life. Iridion II doesn't do that. In Iridion II, you can get as many upgrades as you please in one level, but once you complete it and move on to the next planet, your ship is weak again. This means you can never upgrade to the max. Also, there is a lacking of powerups such as shields, speed, and missiles. All that you get are lasers and bombs.
Speaking of lasers, while it may be fun to try and powerup as many of your lasers as possible, you will soon realise how pointless that it, not only because you lose it all in the next level, but also because, of the 5 available weapons, only 1 is worth using. It is extremely powerful in contrast to the others, it shoots smooth and quick, and it doesn't have any annoying features like the others, such as rebounding off walls or shooting aimlessly at nothing. (you'll know what i mean once you test them all.)
Still, despite this all, the game was fun. The levels are nicely designed and the bosses are challenging.

I do not regret having bought this game. After all, I got it for a mere 5$. Even at 15$, this would be a decent buy. While not a GREAT game, it is certainly good. I recommend it to any casual space shooter fan.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/30/04