Star Fox Command

"Back to Fox's Roots? My Foot!"

The Lylat System: For years, it has stood as the epitome of a peaceful galaxy. It's chief planet, Corneria, strived to cultivate harmony and generate well being for all its inhabitants. And it would have permanently succeeded in attaining that goal, if only a maniacal usurper known as Andross had not enslaved thousand of Lylians in an attempt to become the ruler of the galaxy.

Fortunately the Star Fox team, led by the brilliant captain Fox McCloud, was ready to engage the threat, and with a swift and decisive blow they ended Andross's tyrannical reign and returned peace yet again to that friendly galaxy. However, years later, after the Star Fox team had dismembered, a new menace emerged. The Emperor of a mysterious alien race, known as the Anglars, declared himself dictator and once again attacked the peaceful world of Corneria. Now, with the Star Fox team separated, it is up to Fox alone to confront the Anglars and restore freedom. But it's such a huge army; one lone resistance fighter may not be enough.

Such is the situation you find yourself in as you power up Star Fox Command. The Lylat System has yet again been overrun, and using your swift stylus skills, you are going to need to rescue it from impending doom. And yes, that means this game is virtually only touch screen controlled.

To bring about the end of the Anglars, you are going to have to make it to the end of the game by advancing planet by planet until you reach the final boss. On your journey, you will encounter about six to seven missions that you will need to complete.

Each mission starts out with Fox's Arwing and the command ship Great Fox launching into an overview map of a battlefield. In the battlefield lurk enemy fighters, enemy bases, and occasionally enemy missiles. What is unique is that you do not merely take control of Fox's Arwing and obliterate all of your foes in a matter of seconds. Instead, Star Fox Command offers a turn-based approach.

When it is your turn, you use the stylus to draw a flight path for Fox. As you construct this path, there are a few main things to think about: you want to eliminate all of the opposing fighters before all your turns are up (you have a limited number of turns to complete each mission), you want to prevent any of the enemies from reaching Great Fox (if they do, it will ‘splode into pieces and you will fail), and you want to collect powerups to enhance your chances of victory (missiles = resplendent explosions!).

Once you have plotted the best course of action given your circumstances and turn's supply of fuel, you can end your turn and your fighter will begin to move -- as will the opposition. After everything has settled, another screen will bring up which enemy craft you encountered, and from there you will be able to engage in battles.

If you succeed in a battle (don't worry lad, we'll discuss battles soon enough), the enemy you fought will be destroyed. If you fail, the foe will continue on toward the Great Fox, creating an additional annoyance for you to deal with on you next turn. Basically, the overall goal of each mission is to go around slaughtering fiends until all of them are gone, and then you win and are able to advance.

What is cool is that in nearly all of the missions, Fox is not the only playable character. Allies (or, in the case of Star Wolf, unfriendly associates) will often lend assistance. When multiple fighters are under you command, the stylus-drawn flight plan system works the exact same way -- only you have to construct flight plans for every character. Not only will you have to decide on the most efficient way to complete the mission, but you will also want to consider which person has the most aptly suited fighter for specific enemies. It adds a layer of depth to each level, not to mention it throws in some much needed variety.

But of course, drawing astute flight plans is only a small part of the gameplay; where the bulk of it rests is in the battles. In battles, you will fight enemy fighters using one of the ships you are in control of. Each ship has several differences -- from its appearance to its laser power to its supply of Nova Bombs.

These differences make fighting fun. In each battle, you are given free roam of a certain area, in which lurk several enemies that you need to destroy. And believe it or not, there is also a horde of enemies that you don't need to destroy. So, in every battle you have decide whether to quickly fly through and beat only a few enemies, or whether to clear out everybody -- which gives you a special powerup and beefs up your overall score.

To accomplish your goal, you can blast enemies out of the sky using traditional laser fire, you can lock onto enemies and then launch a special attack in their direction, or you can drag Nova Bombs via the touch screen onto the map, thereby scorching your opponents into oblivion. Beyond that, you can perform U-turns and loops by pressing the appropriate buttons on the touch screen, or your can slide the stylus back-and-forth to do a barrel roll, which blocks enemy fire and increases your time. Yes, you are timed, so you'll either need to move quickly or deflect lots of enemy fire.

Other than the occasional boss, that's about all there is to battles. Now, while the battle system is sturdy, it does contain one slight problem: there's no intensity! Normally, Star Fox games are known for their jaw dislocating battle sequences, but they are nonexistent in Command. Sure, there will be a few instances where you will feel the pressure; however, most of the time you can simply antagonize your adversaries by hiding in a corning and locking onto them from a distance. Even if you do decide to get up close and personal, there's usually very little to keep your adrenaline levels up.

Although Star Fox Command lacks intensity when compared to most other Star Fox titles, it offers way more as far as storyline goes. After each full-fledged mission, you will encounter a lengthy set of dialogue between various characters. And this dialogue isn't bland; it's totally stinkin' awesome! (Well, not quite, though it's up there.) But, it gets better. After you finish the game once, you'll unlock the ability to make key choices for your characters, thereby unlocking new routes, new planets, new characters, and even new endings. Yep, nine full length endings to be exact. Each path has lots of dialogue, so it is easy to become immersed in everything that is happening with the characters.

As far as graphics go, Star Fox Command is simply beautiful. The DS is quite capable in the graphics department, and Star Fox Command illustrates that wonderfully. All of the fighters are three-dimensional and they look great -- especially the various craft you fly. Some of the enemy fighters are not quite as detailed or as elegant, but they appear nice nonetheless.

Landscapes also look good. There's nothing intricate about them, but seeing as they play a minor role in this predominantly air based game that's not that bad. Rarely will you swoop down low enough to take note of the ground, and even upon close inspection you will discover that it was fairly well designed.

Though, that's not to say everything about the graphics is great. Sadly all of the characters are only in 2-d for the cut scenes -- which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a little depressing seeing as the DS can render excellent 3-d character models. Also, effects such as explosions are lackluster. Most of the time, however, Star Fox Command does awesome in the graphics area.

In Sound, though, Command doesn't score high. The music is generally good, although it is basic. Fortunately, the songs themselves are lengthy, so you won't have to worry about a simplistic tune repeating itself every twenty seconds or so. Unfortunately, there still is not a whole lot there. Each pilot has his or her own song, and whenever that pilot flies, that song plays. So, while Fox's song might be interesting, if you fight, say, 150 battles with Fox over the course of the game, you are going to hear his special song 150 times. It doesn't necessarily hinder the gameplay at that point, but it certainly doesn't enhance it much.

Sound effects are also elementary. There are sounds of explosions, laser fire, engines -- but there is not much to say for them. Like the music, they are an important element to the gameplay. Regrettably, they fail to help it much. They are there, they do their job, and that's it.

Perhaps the main redeeming factor of Star Fox Command is it Wi-Fi mode. Okay, so it is basic, but it is nice. The area in which you'll be spending most of your time on Wi-Fi is Battle Royal, where you and three competitors will battle it out for first place (the other mode allows you to play against anywhere from one to three other people, but it doesn't count towards your rank). To win, you need to collect the most stars, which appear in the place of a decimated opponent. So, you will not only need to slaughter your rivals viciously, but you will need to ensure some pesky star stealer does not swoop in and take your point.

There are powerups too, such as twin lasers, Nova Bombs, and health rings. These will aid in your voyage for victory. Sadly, one of the powerups -- the plasma laser -- is extremely powerful, and often times a match can be decided based on who starts off closest to that particular powerup. This can be slightly frustrating, though skill usually still plays a key role, allowing you to succeed even if you weren't granted an impeccable starting point.

And if you aren't too keen on games with traditional ranking systems, there is good news: Star Fox Command's ranking system makes it fairly simple to gain levels and really hard to lose levels. So, as long as you keep playing, you should slowly move up through the 26 available ranks. Granted, experts will move up the ranks way faster, thereby establishing their dominance, but it does give novices a shot at moving up in the world.

What is even better is that unlike single player, Wi-Fi is intense. With four human opponents all blasting away at one another trying to obtain stars, the battle sessions are full of frenzied action. It won't always elicit an adrenaline rush, but it sure is exciting. However, because the multi-man melees are basically the same every time (except with different opponents), it is easy for them to get tedious.

Star Fox Command is a well-made game. There is no argument there. However, despite its solid construction, Command just does not quite live up to the prestige that previous Star Fox titles have had. It has many aspects that are truly worthwhile. It also has many aspects that are not so appealing. With its 10-15 hour single player length and potentially unlimited amount of Wi-Fi replayability, it is definitely long, though not always intriguing.

If you are looking for a fast and exciting sequel to the Star Fox series, Command will be a disappointment. It is good, yes, but the developers seriously strayed from the heart pounding action of previous Star Fox games when they added the radically different style of gameplay. If you are looking for a casual game with a consuming story, though, consider placing this game on your must have list. It's calm, it's fun, and if you like it's style of gameplay, it will be perfect for you.

Storyline9.2
Controls: 8.6
Gameplay: 7.6
Graphics: 8.7
Sound: 7.5
Replay Value: 8.6
Multiplayer: 8.9
Overall: 8.1

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/21/06