A Welcome Change from Previous Entries in the Franchise

Aside from Zelda, the Star Fox franchise is my favorite Nintendo series of all time.  For nearly a decade now, the franchise has been on a rocky road of mediocrity.  After the masterpiece that is Star Fox 64, Fox and the team made their debut on the GameCube with Star Fox Adventures, a Zelda-clone developed by Rare, which was indeed a good game but nevertheless was not what Star Fox fans were looking for.  Then, last year, came the lowest point in the series with Star Fox Assault developed by Namco.  You'd think a Star Fox game developed by the people who do Ace Combat would be a sure-fire classic, but it was truly horrendous game seemingly confused as what kind of game it should be. 
 
So, since 1997, fans have been seeking a true follow-up to the game that introduced force feedback to console gamers.  And honestly, I think we've found it.  Star Fox Command comes to us from Q-Games, which is a team consisting of former Argonaut members (responsible for the original Star Fox and 64) along with the man who created the original Ape Escape after winning Sony's Net Yaroze project.  Together they have returned the franchise to an all-flight environment including the branching storyline options from the SNES and N64.  Command, as the name may suggest, also introduces a strategy element to the game with its mission structure.  With classic gameplay, new strategy elements, a surprisingly good storyline, and the inclusion of online play, Star Fox Command is a must-have title for DS owners. 
 
 
Graphics 

Crisp 3D graphics that will instantly remind you of Star Fox 64's glory days.  The draw distance isn't great, but the mission environments are varied and look excellent.  You will get some slow-down from time to time, but for the most part, Command offers great looking graphics for a handheld 3D action title.  Each character has their own ship now with their own distinct characteristics, which is a nice touch.  The cutscenes are essentially talking heads, but the storyline is almost good enough to ignore the lackluster presentation of it. 
 
 
Control 
First of all, yes...you can do a barrel roll.  With that out of the way, let's talk about the game's control scheme.  Yes, it utilizes the stylus and touchscreen to the fullest, and quite well.  The top screen is where all the action takes place, while the bottom screen doubles as both a radar and your flight mechanics.  Dragging the stylus around the touchscreen turns your Arwing in the corresponding directions, while an icon on the left allows you to do a loop and an icon on the right gives you access to a vertical U-turn.  The game still utilizes the classic boost meter, the size of which is determined by your chosen pilot's ship, to limit the amount of tricks you can do without a rest period.  Double tapping the top half of the touchscreen throws your pilot into a boost, while double tapping the bottom half will slam on the brakes.  Some ships are still equipped with nova bombs, but instead of simply shooting them, you use the radar to drop them much like you would as a commander in Battlefield 2.  It's an excellent twist to how you plan out your attack.  And oh yeah...the barrel roll.  You can perform one by simply scribbling on the screen.  Not only will the roll deflect enemy fire, the deflection of enemy fire now adds time to your clock (fuel) as well as pulling nearby power-ups to you. 
 

One of my only complaints with the game is that all of the missions take place in a squared-off arena.  There are no forced rail levels from the past.  This sounds like it would get repetitive, but thanks to the great mix of enemies and the variability of which pilot you fly to each encounter completely negates the fact that each fight takes place in a blocked off area.  The big new addition to the gameplay is the strategic elements presented on each missions map.  As a mission begins, The Great Fox (your mothership) flies onto a map consisting of moving enemies, enemy bases, cruise missiles, no-fly zones, and sometimes fog that hides the enemy.  You have a limited number of turns in order to eliminate all threats on the map.  Using the stylus you draw a flight path for each of your pilots.  Choosing who goes where is completely up to you.  You must eliminate all enemies on the map within your amount of turns as well as within a certain time limit (the clock only counts down during an actual fight) without letting anything reach The Great Fox.  If you die, ROB on The Great Fox will supply you with a new ship (he only has four extras unless you earn more), but if The Great Fox gets hit and ROB dies...the mission is over.  It seems like a lot to deal with, but once you get into the game and see how it all works, it's great. 
 
 
Sound 

The sound department is hit and miss in Command.  The soundtrack is great no doubt because it's done by the same composer that worked on Star Fox 64.  The "miss" comes in the form of the absence of spoken dialogue, which has been part of the game since 64.  Instead, we get a somewhat nostalgic garbled Simlish/Animalese language that forces you to read critical information in the middle of frantic dogfights.     
 
 
Replay Value 
First, the bad news.  The story mode can be beaten in about 3-4 hours.  The good news?  The game has NINE different endings.  Yes, nine!  That's easily 20+ hours of going through games many different branches, each consisting of new storyline elements, new levels, new bosses, new characters, different ships, and ultimately different outcomes for Fox and the team.  Much of the story revolves around Fox trying to bring the team back together since he disbanded the crew again after the events in Assault (it's nice that Q-Games doesn't completely ignore Assualt despite how awful it was).  It gets a little melodramatic with the arcs concerning Fox and Krystal's relationship, but it fits with the franchise's history which is good.  General Pepper has fallen ill, and your former wingman Peppy, now retired from action, has taken over as Corneria's Commander.  Falco and Slippy still play a big part in the story, but you will also run into some brand new characters as well as a certain feline from 64. 
 

The game also includes a solid multiplayer component including the ability to have 6-player dogfights with only one game card.  Online through Nintendo Wi-Fi you can play with up to 3 other players from around the world in a fight to the finish.  Each time you take down an enemy, you must pick up a star that they drop.  The pilot with the most stars at the end of a round wins.  Much like Mario Kart DS and Metroid Prime: Hunters before it, Star Fox Command has a solid stat tracking system that will easily allow you to compare your skills with those around the world.  While the multiplayer is a bit chaotic and it would've been nice to implement the strategic maps somehow in multiplayer, it's still fun and is a step in the right direction.     
 
 
Conclusion 
As previously stated, Star Fox fans have waited nearly a decade for a game like this.  The game is a blast to play and is even quite challenging in certain situations, which is a nice change.  With the franchise back into the hands of the original creators, I can't wait to see where the series goes next.  I can already imagine translating this kind of control scheme to the Wii.     
 
 
*** This review was written for Flamevault.com shortly after the release of the game. ***