When the Game Boy Advance was launched, Nintendo touted it as a 2D platform only, but since its release many developers have incorporated polygonal elements into their games. Bam Entertainment Inc. has published the first true polygonal game for the GBA entitled Star X. Graphic State Games developed the game from the ground up to push the limits of the Game Boy Advance hardware, and they have created a truly magnificent game.

It is a joyous occasion though out the galaxy since meeting a new race, the Karask's. You, a pilot, have been given the task of escorting the ambassadors from the your home planet to the Karasks' planet to discuss trade relations and setting up an alliance. As the weeks pass by, you become aware of the Karasks true intentions for wanting this alliance. They do not want interstellar trading, alliances, or any sort of friendships; they want to enslave the entire human race! Upon hearing this diabolical plot, you hurriedly go tell this urgent news to the rest of the crew. Before the news could be passed on, the Karash discovered that you found out their evil schemes, so they kill the entire diplomatic party, and replaced them with there own people. You are now the sole survivor and it is your vital mission to get off their planet and warn your people of the impending doom.

This is the first attempt to make an entire 3D world on the Game Boy Advance, and Graphic State did a really impressive job with the limited capabilities of the hardware. While the graphics are not anywhere near the GameCube's standards, it looks slightly better than Star Fox for SNES. The frame rate in the game remains smooth even with multiple enemies on screen and the numerous explosions that occur. The level of detail for this type of game is outstanding. The ship and enemies are clearly distinguishable. The different environments that the players will transverse are done really well and they are also varied to help drive away any repetitiveness. To make the game even more realistic, there are shadows that each spacecraft project on the bottom surface that help the player keep track of who is behind them. Even though the explosions are only sprite based, it really helps set the overall feel of the game and gives it that extra sense of reality.

While the game is still on rails, meaning that the game is forcing you to go forward, so the player can only move up, down, left, and right; the controls for the game are really solid. All the buttons on the GBA are used in the game to shoot, speed bursts, air brakes, spin craft around, and fire smart bombs. Only area for complaint in this department is that it's extremely hard to pick up on how to aim and hit each target while also trying to move your craft out of enemy line of fire. After a while the targeting becomes easier and the game then becomes highly enjoyable.

Each alien world that the player will fight in is different than the other which helps keep the game from being repetitive. While the game is still mostly a rail-based game, every few missions the gamer will be presented with a different type of mission. The first one the players will come across is set up like this. You are in deep space and your mission is to destroy all the mines in a certain time limit. What makes this one mission different from all the others is that you have full 360-degree movement. While destroying those mines, the player will also have to dogfight other spaceships trying to prevent you from accomplishing this mission. This came as a surprise and a much welcome treat to the other mission types.

The only true let down in this otherwise splendid game, is the fact that it uses password saves instead of battery back ups. Each password is long and very hard for a person to remember while on the road. This is can be a huge distraction if the person is on the road and has no access to pen and paper. The game needs a battery back up since it is really hard to remember each code.

Star X is rated E for Everyone.

Gameplay: 8.8
Even though it will take a while for the player to come to grips with all the controls, once they do the game becomes highly enjoyable. The controls are tight, and the mission are varied enough to prevent repetitiveness.

Graphics: 9.4
The one thing that this game is known for is that it is GBA's first true polygonal game. This game really pushes the technical limits of the GBA. Each ship is modeled nicely and easily distinguishable from other types of crafts. The effects that are used, explosions, shadows, and others make this game very memorable.

Sound: 8.8
The music and sound effects really compliment the graphics in the game.

Difficulty: 9
Beginners can go into the tutorial mode and learn the basics of the game. As the gamer advances through the game the goals become progressively

Concept: 8.5 
When developing this game, Graphic State gather their inspiration from such classic games as, Star Fox, Star Wars, and others. The end product is a fine result and shows what the GameBoy Advance is truly capable of.

Multiplayer: 
Multiplayer in this game is available to where four people can play with a variety of game modes. It was not reviewed at the time of this review.

Overall: 8.9
This is one game that every Game Boy Advance user must own. They can use this game to prove to their friends that the GBA is capable of producing 3D based games. The only thing that can hamper the experience for some is the password saves, since they are long and cumbersome. Overall I highly recommend everyone to pick up a copy of this game