ultimately all smoke and mirrors, Iridions world is richly detailed, has remarkable depth, and is unbelievably fluid. It's often hard to tell if the game's backgrounds are composed of streaming full motion video or just some really fancy math-powered 2D bitmaps." Less positively, Aaron Curtiss of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the faux-3D visuals of Iridion were a letdown compared to true 3D games like F-Zero: Maximum Velocity. NextGen wrote, "This beautiful game would be a must-buy in first-person view, but as it is, it's nearly unplayable." In contrast to praise for Iridions graphics, its gameplay was generally panned. IGNs Craig Harris wrote that the shooter would only impress for its graphics. Harris and Curtiss noted that player's freedom of movement was limited. Concepcion complained that on a small screen distances were hard to judge and the player's ship was often hit by bullets that appeared to be in the distance. GameSpys Andrew S. Bub and Game Informers Jay Fitzloff criticized the craft placement, as the player's view was often obscured by their own ship. Edge and others observed that Iridions replay value was low, while Curtiss wrote that the changing environments helped keep the game interesting. AllGames Skyler Miller called Iridion 3D nothing more than a technology demo. A more positive review came from GamePro, whose reviewer summed up his experience by writing that, "if you're looking for some classic shooter action on your new GBA, Iridion 3D will fit the bill nicely without blowing you away." The sound design and music received praise. Cindi Lash of the Post-Gazette praised the soundtrack as demonstrating the promise of the Game Boy's hardware to leave "tinny carousel-like tunes" in the past. WiredLounge.com said that "The soundtrack is an instant classic, maybe even one of the best shooter scores ever." Concepcion noted that the game's mood-fitting "high-energy techno" was an oddity coming from a German game company. Iridion 3D was one of the more successful third-party titles on the Game Boy Advance, paving the way for a sequel. Shin'en followed the game with Iridion II in 2003 and Nanostray in 2005. Iridion 3D was released on Steam on April 8, 2020, alongside Iridion II. Notes References External links Official site 2001 video games Game Boy Advance games Game Boy Advance-only games Rail shooters Single-player video games Video games developed in Germany