Iron Phoenix

It will take some time to reach a level of Zen with the control system. It takes plenty of mindfulness to reach a state of mindlessness. Once the controls become second nature Iron Phoenix comes to life.

A solid fighting game that had the potential to be something truly brilliant. There isn't much in the gaming world more satisfying than beating others online and it comes to you here in bucketloads.

Good game + bad players = a wee bit too much stress for folks like me, but perhaps we'll see what happens with the game again in a few months.

The combat options are refreshing, and the ability to pummel up to 15 other people in a deathmatch is awesome, but the graphics aren't as smooth as they could be, and there's not that much more to do, due to the lack of a comprehensive story mode.

It's a curiosity worth a rental -- before the Xbox Live population drops to zero, as it quickly does for so many second-tier games. You just might be able to overlook its flaws and find the button-mashing fun.

In the end analysis the game just does not hold up. The broken frame rate makes it difficult to control and it just can't deliver on its promise of a massive online fighting game.

This bird will need a true miracle to rise again from this disaster. [June 2005, p.130]