Iron & Blood

"An amazing game I never would have imagined."

What an awesome game. As an avid role-player, I've found this to be one of the few fighting games that actually makes my RPG-based heart beat with a yearning to play. Perhaps that's because the game designers tried to make it into an RPG... sort of. But still, it's simply an excellent game (and cheap too... I got mine for $7.50).
First of all, the characters are amazing in and of themselves. As a dwarf-lover my favorite character is obviously Torgo, the one-armed, warhammer-tossing dwarf. For those of you closer associated with evil characters, I recommend Nym Pimpley, a double scimitar-wielding goblin who possesses the uncanny ability to act as a lighting rod (the funniest move in the game). Beyond Torgo and Nym, I love every character in the game (with the possible exception of the elven chick... she annoys me). Even the secret characters are cool. My personal favorite is the Minion of Order, who kinda reminds me of a horrible fighting game we all know as Shaq-fu. But not only are the characters very... original, but each of them has a very unique voice that brings them out. Some of these can be annoying (Ignatius Max, Shinesta, Erland), but each voice adds so much to the character. All characters come with a full arsenal of sayings for many of their moves, as well as two victory sayings, one for a regular victory and one for a perfect victory. In victory sayings, Nym Pimpley once again shines brightest with his ''I'm hungry. Who's for a sandwich?''
Also, the controls are great. Each combo is well-planned. The 3D environment is fully explorable (and perhaps my favorite part of the game is that there are actual definitive edges of the arenas, not the invisible walls you find in some other games). While many of the moves are either difficult to pull off because of complicated button sequences, or difficult to hit with because of incredibly long prep times, that's only fair as these are the powerful moves. For instance, how impossible would it be to beat Luthor if his +5 charge was instantaneous, or Stellerex if he could just make runes appear on the ground?
And of course, there's the music. It seems the lovers and haters all agree on this one, but I love the music. Some of it can get bland at times, but if you've ever listened to the words to Urgo's song, you can't tell me the music is bad. Not to mention, how much cooler can you get than a song whose in entire lyrics consist of the word ''Stellerex''?
Anyway, I love this game and it's RPG-wannabeness. It appeals to something deep inside each of us... that something that wants to see a one-armed dwarf toss an enchanted warhammer at a floating sorcerer while yelling out ''EAT DWARVEN STONE!''

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/25/03, Updated 04/25/03