"Not quite Star Fox 64, but it's definitely one of the best games on the DS"

Star Fox has hit a bit of a rough patch lately. A truly great Star Fox game hasn't been released since the classic Nintendo 64 title, Star Fox 64. But will his DS debut change all that? Read on and find out.

Story

The story takes place a few years after Star Fox Assault. All of the team is gone. Falco left the team to become an independent pilot, although he can't quite find the same thrill he had working for Star Fox. Peppy has been promoted to a General after General Pepper could no longer fulfill his duties. Slippy has found a girlfriend (yeah, I know that's weird) and is about to get married. That left Krystal, Fox, and ROB as the sole members of Star Fox. However, Fox, against his better judgement, fell in love with Krystal. Because of the danger the Star Fox team faced every day, he forced Krystal to leave the team for her own safety. Heartbroken, Krystal left and hasn't been seen since. Now Fox has to fight against a new enemy that threatens the Lylat System, the Anglars.

Graphics

The graphics in Star Fox Command are suprisingly great. The textures are crisp, the ships look great, and the artwork is awesome. It looks much better than Star Fox 64. The framerate is very smooth, although I have had it slow down on me before in multiplayer.

Sound

The sound in Command...could be better. First of all, there's no voice acting. It is replaced by gibberish, similar to Animal Crossing. It isn't too bad, but I prefer the voice acting. You can turn it off if you wish, though.

As for the music, most of it is good. The Star Fox theme is back in all its glory, as well as some new tracks. It's nothing exactly memorable, but you won't want to tear your ears off, either.

Gameplay

As I said in the title, this game is not Star Fox 64. First of all, there are no rail levels. The combat takes place in a big square level. The map of the level is on the bottom screen, which also shows the location of enemies and power ups. As for the actual combat, it's very similar to Star Fox 64, but with a few changes and different controls. Controlling your ship, outside of shooting your lasers, is done entirely with the touchscreen. Your loops and turns are done with a tap of an icon on the touch screen. Double tapping the top of the touch screen will give you a boost, tapping the bottom half will let you use your brakes, and jerking the stylus from side to side will let you do a barrel roll. These controls take a while to get used to, but once you do, you'll love them. It feels very good pulling off a loop or a barrel roll just with the touch screen.

And as an added twist, the game features some strategy elements. Before each battle, you appear on a map similar to Fire Emblem. The Great Fox also appears in the level, and MUST be protected. If one enemy gets to the Great Fox, you lose. To win the level you must destroy all the motherships and enemies in the area. To do that, you need to plot a path with the touch screen. After your turn is over, you and the enemies will move. If the enemy crosses paths with you, you'll fight them. It's a very fresh and fun take on the Star Fox franchise. I must admit that I was very skeptical, but it turned out great.

Multiplayer

Since I haven't played local multiplayer, I'll just talk about the online multiplayer. Simply put, online is awesome. I would call it the best on the DS. You don't get to choose a character and you don't get to choose a map. While this may sound bad, it's actually refreshing, especially to a Metroid Prime Hunters or Mario Kart DS player. Everything starts of exactly equal. There are no cheap tactics and no glitches (that I've seen). It's all an equal contest of skill. If you lose, you can only blame yourself.

One bad thing about the multiplayer is that if one person disconnects, the entire game ends. While this may not seem like that big a deal, there are a lot of disconnectors out there. So try not to get frustrated, because if you're any good, you'll likely be disconnected on multiple times.

Overall, Star Fox Command is a great game. It has the perfect balance of strategy and shooting, and has very balanced online multiplayer. I would highly recommend it to a Star Fox fan, a fan of online shooters, or someone just looking for a solid DS game to add to their collection.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/08/06