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Better than Iridion 3D

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: May 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

You'll love this game! You get to select your weapon and skill level. It's alot of fun and the graphics are amazing. You have a smart bomb and a super shot as your super weapons. If you buy this game you won't regret it!

great stuff

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: May 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

From Penny-Aracade (thx rambozo):
"
First of all, disregard the original Iridion 3D. Iridion 2 is worlds better and truly a great shmup. The gameplay is fantastic. A combination of environmental hazards and unique enemies (200 different kinds!!) reminds me of R-Type, especially the graphical style.

Speaking of the graphics, they're AMAZING. It's a combination of polygons (in the menu backgrounds, language and weapon selection screens) looped FMV backgrounds, overlayed mode7 scaled objects (certain parts of the environments to break up the repetition of the looped FMV environments) and very well animated, prerendered 3D sprites. The game honestly looks nearly as good as some modern console efforts. It has to be seen to be believed.

Not only is it pretty, it's also quite innovative. Instead of the typical shooter system where enemies drop a red or blue square that advances one of two types of weapons up one level (ugh!) You have 5 or so different kinds of weapons to choose before each level, each very distinct. You start with that weapon at base level, then you collect powerups from stationary rotating weapon-supply thingies. Getting them often requires risk. Also, once you fully upgrade the weapon you chose before the start of the level, you can switch to a (seemingly random) secondary weapon which is one of the others you did not choose. You can level this one up fully as well, and switch between both weapons on the fly. Did I mention there's 200 kinds of enemies and 32 bosses? And there's 15 levels, each full of unique art, each very long and difficult.
"
After each level you get an INET-Code, with which you can participate in a Worldwide Championship. ... I havent seen something better around.

Exactly what the GBA needed!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: September 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Iridion 2 is one of the best shooters I've played in some time. Although the Gradius-style endless upgrades aren't present (I'm a sucker for an inhumanly long trail of entities mimicking my movement and firing patterns, what can I say?), the system employed in I2 is very well-done. At the beginning of the level, you choose which one of six weapons you wish to use. This weapon begins at level 1 (of 3 maximum), while all the other 5 weapons begin at level "0" (must use a powerup to activate level 1 of the desired weapon.) Even at level 1, your ship always has access to a charge-up shot (double tap the firing button) which is much, much more powerful and can form combo attacks. Using a powerup on a maxed out weapon instead replenishes 50% of your ships shield bar, and since they can be saved up, work as energy tanks in times of crisis (e.g. the final boss). The only real grumble is the unbalanced nature of the weapons. While the Plasma Cannon and the Bouncing Blue Balls (read with a clean mind, I command it) are awesome in just about any level, the semi-homing green lasers are just pitiful, not to mention the 4-directional shot. This can be looked at as a way to add challenge, and I personally chose a different weapon every level to keep the game fresh. The most unnecessary addition, in my opinion, is the smartbomb, which really tones the difficulty down quite a lot. 3 smartbombs can kill just about any boss, and I never really used them.

The gameplay, while fantastic, wasn't the main selling point for me. Although very well-adjusted in terms of difficulty, the music and sound were beyong top-notch. Veteran GBA composer Manfred Linzner (who, if I read the credits right, did a fair share of programming too) turns out another beautiful soundtrack, with an 80's-techno feel that just plain works with this game. The ever popular track "Cloudy Stairway" has returned from the original (easily my favorite track from I3D), and the music is just perfect for the ambience Shin'en wanted to create with this little number. The sound effects are also very well intergrated, and don't break the music (fans of NES shooters should know exactly what I'm talking about) or halt certain tracks to any noticible degree.

Finally, the challenge. It's challenging! Even on Starter Pilot (TURN AUTO-UPGRADE OFF!) the first level will probably take a life or two. The learning curve is pretty steep, with the second set of galaxies boasting a formidable challenge and the levels only picking up from there. The bosses are pretty easy, with the occaisional 3 or 4 who will get you a few times.

All in all, it's a great game with another, albeit different from the original, well-crafted faux-3D engine. The GBA continues to show us new and better ways to duplicate arcade experience, and if Iridion 2 is evident of a perminant "raising of the bar", I say bring on 3, and bring it soon!

Great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: August 11, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is way better than the original Iridion. The graphics have improved which Iridion's were still wonderful. The style of the game has changed a little bit. The view is above the ship, and you can move side to side and forward and backwards, the guns upgrade to massive shooting range. The storyline is very good, but seems to stay the same with the general telling you that the "evil iridion empire is on the planet . . . " then you have to go fight on that planet. When the game is beaten, there is still more to do. An area in the game allows you to complete one level with one life and try to get the highest score possible. After you beat the level, then a code is given to you to put on the website given. You will then be ranked among other people all over the world. This is a very good game and for the price i would certainly get it.

plays similar to the classic shooters.. VIEWPOINT & AXELAY

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

An excellent game, especially if you like old-school shooters, The graphics are the best i've seen on the gameboy advance yet.
Don't pass this up because the original iridion-3d was not good.. this is completely redone with a totally different game engine.

Fantastic game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: September 12, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Wow, this game is dope. Its a shoot-em-up type of game, you fly one of two future flying machines and shoot away in futuristic setting. The graphics is super awesome, best I've seen for GBA. The sound/music is great too! The control and variety of weapons is solid. The gameplay is totally awesome and fast! It feels like you are playing a REAL flying arcade shooting game, HUGE feeling from the tiny GBA, WOW! It feels 3-D even though its a 2-D game. Highly recommended!

A Pleasent Suprise from Majesco!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 29, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I had heard about Iridion (the first) and didn't really feel like getting it. I had heard that you couldn't see where you were aiming shots and many negative things. I didn't really expect Iridion 2 to be much better...but believe me...I was wrong...
-----------------------
Storyline = 3.5/5 Aliens are invading, just like 100 years
ago. Can YOU save the world?

Graphics = 4.5/5 Very well done. Gives out a 3D feel, but
not annoyingly like Iridion 1

Interest = 3/5 This was a definate weak-spot of Iridion
2, it doesn't keep you're interest. It's
fun, but the whole type of play is the
same all game. It gets boring eventually.

Reccomend = 3.7/5 I don't think this is the best game I've
ever seen. They did the best they could,
but it's the same thing again and again.
-----------------------

Overall, this game was pretty good. But, like I said, it gets boring after awhile. It's not your average StarFox game (which are great), but it's not you're average Barney game!

This game is awesome

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 14, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Wow what a great improvement over the first game, first of all you might as well buy both because this one is 15 dollars and Iridion 3d is only 5 :) Anyways the graphics are amazing, they can really show off the great power of the GBA, the sound is great, this game has one of the best music selections, considering they fit perfectly into the mood of the level you are playing, and you even get a jukebox code when you finish the game. This game is a great improvement over the first one because the view mode in this one is aerial considering the first Iridion has a third person viewpoint which really dissapointed some people. Anyways this game is worth the money so make sure you add this to your game collection.

Great Action

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Wow! This is a great sequel to the not-so-good Iridion 3D. The point of view is now above/rear the ship, and the gameplay really rocks!
You'll have to face 5 galaxies of 3 planets each. Each planet sports one mid-level boss and one end level boss, each with his own patterns of attack.
You can choose from 3 levels of difficulty. While easiest is really easy (I've finished the game in one afternoon) the medium one is quite challenging.
Playing the game you'll unlock new game modes, like "Challenge" that puts you against all the Bosses, one after the other.
Graphics is very good. Colorful, clean and bright, so it's not a problem playing this game on a non-SP GBA.
I suggest this game to everyone.

Tedious, Unfun

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 11
Date: July 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is not a good space shooter.

While the 3d background gives a realistic sense of depth, it repeats for the entire level; there is no variety to the background. Every other space shooter I have played has lots of background variety that contributes to a fun experience.

Since the player's point of view is above and behind the ship, enemies towards the top of the screen are further away than objects closer to the screen's bottom. Objects that are far away look smaller to humans, so on the screen, enemies constantly change size as they move up and down the screen. And it's not smooth. The size changes are jerky and unpredictable. Thus, the jerky movements on the foreground don't match with the scrolling background.

Another problem the behind-the-ship-perspective causes is that it can be tough to line up shots. Like train tracks that run into the distance, your bullets converge as they move forward. So, you will hit an enemy that is closer to the center of the screen than you are, and how far closer depends on how far away the enemy is from you. And, you will miss ships that are directly above you.

The weapons are also uninspired. Instead of cool laser blasts, your ship fires little blue balls or green lines. Aside from not looking cool, it can be tough to tell your bullets and the bullets of your enemies apart. The charge shot almost looks cool, but it's kind of grainy. And, since it moves far away from you after it is fired, it shrinks as it moves off. To fire the charge shot, you have to double tap the button, and hold down. In the midst of a bunch of enemy fire, this got confusing for me because if I was holding down the fire button for rapid fire, I would have to let go, then double tap and hold down. But, if I was firing by tapping the button, I would just have to hold it down. But, if I was tapping the button to fire shots, and wanted to fire faster, I would hold the button down. Unfortunately, this would charge the super shot. So, I would have to stop firing for a few seconds, then hold the button down for rapid fire.

This stuff just takes the fun out of a game it becomes tedious to play. And, while iridion.com has some cool music clips, I found the music on the game uninteresting.

For some great shooters, try Gradius or Turok for GBA. Both are nicely done side-scrollers. Genesis has ThunderForce 3, SNES has R-Type 3. If you can find the roms, you might really enjoy these games.

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