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Star Fox Command marks the return of Nintendo's schizophrenic space shooter franchise, which has known some truly incredible titles (Star Fox 64) and some blindingly lackluster titles (Assault). Traditionally, Star Fox games that stray too far from the formula set out in the original SNES game are the ones often considered to be inferior. Command attempts to blend many of the features of the cult-classic Star Fox 2 with some of the advances in Star Fox 64. The problem is that neither of these features are done as well as they were previously, and the touchscreen control simply feels too loose and difficult to use. There's a lot that SFC does correctly, but it's the little things that really destroy the experience. Overall, it's best to describe Command as fanservice for those who always wanted to play Star Fox 2, and people who enjoyed the free-roaming sections of Star Fox 64. Graphics The new artstyle isn't exactly a good change for the series; gone are the semi-realistic CGI renders and in their place are really poorly designed cartoon-based characters. This wouldn't be a problem if the art direction was as smart as, say, Castlevania or Paper Mario, but in this case it simply isn't. The 3D engine looks vaguely similar to Star Fox 64, but you'll swear the N64 game didn't have a draw distance so close. The details on the Arwing and surrounding territories are quite good, and the framerate is solid, but everything looks very bland and uninspired. Sound The animal-ese voices from the SNES Star Fox are back, for better or worse. Star Fox 64 wowed gamers with its fully-voiced script, but Command brings back much of what made the SNES game so classy. The preference for voices really depends on the player, but I would've liked at least some voice acting in Command, considering it resides on a card that's over twice the size in memory as Star Fox 64. The music is typical Star Fox fare, but there won't be very many songs you'll remember. Gameplay There's two primary sections to Command, the "RTS" section and the free-flying shooter section. During a campaign, you have to strategically draw your Arwing's flight path on a 2D map, engaging enemies whenever possible. It's not particularly innovative or fun, but it's not terrible either. The flying missions are a different breed; often, the mission will be nothing more than "destroy three ships and take their stars", which needless to say is a huge change for the traditionally-scripted on-rails gameplay from Star Fox 64 days. Almost all of the missions are far too short and easy, and there's almost no storyline conveyed during gameplay (the story usually appears in still cutscenes as a conversation between two animals). The whole experience just doesn't feel like Star Fox. Overall Command tries too hard to be different, and in the process loses the spirit of what makes Star Fox so great. It's a good first effort on the DS, but it's yet another reminder that forced touchscreen control can do more damage than good. Hopefully another Star Fox game will be released somewhere in the DS's life that more intuitively uses the touchscreenRead full review
Read the whole review @ http://gnadegames.blogspot.com/2006/09/starfox-command-review.html Sorry but ebay cuts it off: So I've been playing Star Fox command for the past couple days and was actually pleasantly surprised. My favorite thing about the game has to be the difficulty (not in the flying and shooting, but in the strategy) and the multiple path type of gameplay. Let me elaborate. Each starfox mission usually encompasses either taking out a mothership, destroying a particular type of enemy, or shooting down a cruise missile. The controls are excellent for flying around and shooting down badguys, and I have only died a couple times in the heat of battle or failed the mission by running out of time. On the other hand, I have allowed enemy ships, and cruise missiles to destroy my flagship on many occasions. There's actually a lot of strategy involved in placing your ships and intercepting threats. At the same time you have to stay aggressive and go after the motherships to earn more turns (and thus leaving your flagship undefended). I actually found one of the first missions the hardest because while I was destroying every enemy I faced, the training mode does not describe any of the elements of the strategic map, so I lost a lot. You also start with only Fox McCloud and then meet up with your buddies. Luckily, flying around and moving my plane around was so much fun I just kept replaying it and eventually learned how it works. Basicaly, there's fog of war clouds that you can rub away with your stylus (only so many though) and then you draw paths for your plans to fly. Once you get into it the strategy elements are really cool, work well, and keep the difficulty of the game up. The graphics and actual missions are spot on StarFox 64 and give you little 3d arenas to fly around and shoot it out. In-game controls are excellent and each spaceship is actually a little different with weapons, lock-on abilities, etc. (I hate Slippy's ship! No Lock ON!). After the first mission you can choose which teammember to go after and the game splits into 3 paths and after every subsequent misison you have at least 2 different areas/missions to choose from. This gives the game excellent replay value! There is also online support and local multiplayer modes which are exactly like the old N64 free for alls. I've never been a very big StarFox fan, though I did really like the 1st one, but the depth the strategy elements have given the game make it totally my cup of tea. Gameplay: 8/10 Pros: Controls are excellent and fluid, drawing paths and planning out attack patterns is a unique new feature, the old N64 dogfights return, different ships handle differently, EXCELLENT boss battles. Great Multiplayer dogfights. Cons: The actual missions can get repetitive: destroy this enemy, chase missile, destroy mothership. Training missions don't adequately prepare you for new strategic elements. No true SNES on-rails missions. Graphics: 8/10 Pros: Arwing ships all look different (there's even a tadpole type ship to play as), solid 3D engine that looks better than the original SNES starfox and almost as good as the N64 version. Cons: Levels are small, and draw-distance could be farther. Some of the old N64 fog is used and actual terrain and levels aren't that varied. cut off...go to gnadegames.blogspot.comRead full review
I'll explain quickly I've never played any other starfox game, so this'll provide a good viewpoint for someone who is unfamiliar with/never played the series. STORY: You play Fox McCloud, leader of the fighter squadron Team Fox. In a nutshell the story explains how after Fox McCloud defeated Dr.Andross (previous head bad guy of other starfox games) the team disbanded. They must now reunite as a new enemy called the Angler now launches waves of attacks from planet venom. CONTROLS: First thing you'll notice is you control your fighter ship via stylus, the d-pad and A/B/X/Y buttons well..shoot. I have to admit, it felt a bit weird at first but you get used it surprisingly quick. Star Fox should definitely be commended for this originality and really takes advantage of the NDS' touch aspects more than any other game I've seen, makes the game feel much more interactive eg. stroking the stylus back and forward across the screen sends your ship into a barrel roll. Cool huh? GAMEPLAY: Most interesting thing is Starfox combines strategy and good classical shooting. At the start of each mission the Great Fox ship (doesn’t move, but launches all the fighters) any fighters you have, and any enemies (that are visible, some are hidden in “fog” in later levels) are mapped out onto a birds-eye-view terrain. You must draw a flight route from the chosen fighter using your stylus (since you have limited “fuel” you can only draw so far) to use up a turn. At the end of each turn all enemies and your own fighter moves, so if an enemy hits the great Fox its mission over. The aim is to intercept groups of enemy fighters. If you do a little window pops up showing the number of enemies (the whole thing’s very well presented) and you jump straight into 3rd-person battleship perspective. Not really much to explain about this part, it’s basically classical shoot-all-you-see. There are a number of items to generate by flying through a hoop (eg health, fuel) and because barrel rolling (apparently) generates a magnetic field you can suck in nearby goodies. A number of enemies reveal cores when killed, and a certain number are required to end the battle. Killing all enemies in a battle gains you bonuses like a missile for the Great Fox which can shoot down bad guys. After killing all the little enemy ships you then take on the enemy base, at the end of which you must try and bring down the mothership, by flying through beacons and then barrelrolling into the ship at the end. But this happens EVERY mission; so the main problem of Star Fox is it gets very repetitive, luckily though half the time you are so happy flying around and shooting stuff you don’t really care as much as you should. Good thing though is as you progress you gain more characters for the team each with their own vantages eg Fox has target lock, Slippy more bombs. GRAPHICS: 3D, so everything’s looking all crisp and nice. Terrains are mostly detailed too eg like corneria’s cities. However some can be pretty bland for instance one is just red sky, and enemies sometimes pop-up out of the background. SOUND: Nothing to really complain about here, all music sounds heroic and generally classic. Coolest thing is the characters all speak in a garbled language, and you can actually record your voice on the DS and implement it into the character's speech! LASTABLILITY: Very beefy cart - 9 endings for single player, multiplayer mode and Wi-Fi though at the moment really only U.S people/ importers have it.Read full review
The cons: the game can be short, the graphics could be better, the voices could be back, and the controls take some getting used to. The pros? The game has nine alternate endings and a load of character interaction in it. I was fortunate enough to get this for a very cheap price and I believe it was worth every penny. I'm new to the Star Fox series and chose to buy this game because I heard of the different endings and that it had more dialog than any other game. If you like the characters, I'd highly recommend this game. I should also note how to pilot your ship. As mentioned, the game uses the touch screen to steer your ship entirely and the buttons on your DS are used to shoot. It's different, but once you get the hang of it, it may not be as bad as lone-time fans believe. Unfortunately, it's heavily repetitive. Not only are you stuck with shooting flying enemies and bosses in a ship, getting the other endings requires playing the same missions multiple times. Multiplayer mode is a good bonus. Perhaps the best news is that you don't need a second cartridge to play with another person; instead, they only need to download it. It also has Wi-Fi battle. I have yet to play with a specific person, but I will say Random Wi-Fi is sometimes ruined by the number of people who "drop out" of battles. Overall, it's a very fun game for nearly anyone. I was especially pleased with the character script, despite the lack of voice acting. I thought it was funny and well-written. The gameplay is addictive and unique in my opinion.Read full review
A very cool game for the DS, if you like flying around in a starfighter, this and Star Wars Episode 3 are the games for you. At first, I was very skeptical about the using the stylus to control the ship but it suprising works very well. Over all, if you find a good deal on this game, GET IT. I can't wait to hook up to Nintendo Wi-Fi so that I can play against other people. Cool game overall. I don't like that you can't play multiplayer with just bots though, but so far, the single player is solid enough for me not to be super hung up on multiplayer. :)
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