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Star Fox Command Review
Written by Cody Musser on Thursday, August 31, 2006
User Score
Online Star Fox! Open arena combat!
Stylus control can be cumbersome.
"Revvin' up your engine
Listen to her howlin' roar
Metal under tension
Beggin' you to touch and go
Highway to the Danger Zone ..."
I only heard those words, on repeat, from the very first moment I laid my eyes on Star Fox Command. They echoed through my mind and spread like a virus until I was confident that I had to play this game, and while I was playing, I was only to be called Maverick ... or Iceman.
Maybe I'm taking this a little far, considering Top Gun has its own game that I could enjoy, but this game is a little different in that ... it's actually good. Not to mention the fact that in the minds of many gamers, Star Fox is simply the be-all end-all air combat franchise. The interesting part of that ideology is that Star Fox hasn't seen worthy air combat since the games release on the Nintendo 64. Luckily, Star Fox Command is here to change all of that, and is a self-proclaimed harkening back to the series roots. The air combat within the game isn't exactly like the original release that so many gamers hold dear, but it does capture the essence of the first title. The series has been taken off the rails, been given stylus-driven gameplay, and a tactical mode that employs turn-taking and character movement; yet it still feels undoubtedly like Starfox.
The open arena combat in Star Fox Command is one of the games most pleasing elements, as it allows combat to be free-roaming and expansive. The stylus-driven gameplay is also somewhat of a pleasant addition to the gameplay. Combat isn't necessarily deterred by using the stylus, but at times it does feel forced. Using the stylus can feel slightly slower than it would be to make the same movements with a d-pad, but the games difficulty isn't crushing enough that it hinders anything. The most negative aspect to using the stylus is that when players are engaging in a heavy dogfight with enemy forces using things like bombs or loop-de-loops is a practiced art of looking away at the right moment. Until players memorize their location on the touchscreen, which I was somehow never able to do, they end up feeling like a hindrance.
The single most impressive addition to Star Fox Command is the tactical gameplay contained within. Each level is composed of a map that is very similar to Advance Wars or Fire Emblem, although without the grid. Players are given an allotment of turns and are expected to maneuver their fighters to intercept enemies before they can attack the player's mothership, Great Fox. Obtaining items like missiles and time boosts, while avoiding the fog of war and no-fly zones gives the tactical gameplay more depth than most can expect from a simple action title. The problem occurs however, just as the tactical battles grow to truly impressive depth, the game ends. Star Fox Command isn't a long title by any means, and while completing the game can unlock many multiple pathways for further exploration on the next play-though, there is still a feeling that this feature of the game could have become so much more.
While playing through the games separate pathways doesn't ever introduce much more difficulty to the title, it does fill players in on the entire story taking place throughout the game. The storyline isn't exactly a dramatic masterpiece, but there is as much to be taken out of the game as players put into it. Players will share experiences with all their favorite characters from the franchise and achieving all nine of the possible endings will fill in every gap the story initially has.
Multiplayer in Star Fox Command is one of the games most touted features, and is deservedly so. The woes of some of the single player issues are put to rest as it's easy to have a blast playing with friends using a single game cart, or exploring the games Wi-Fi capabilities. Online dogfights can quickly get hectic with three other players competing to rule the skies.
Star Fox Command isn't exactly the masterpiece that many were hoping for. It is however a new direction for an old series. Exploring new gameplay elements the developers have breathed life into a series that could have been lost forever. The quirks that the game suffers from are more like hiccups in the attempt to create a classic title using an entirely new gameplay mechanic, the stylus. Ultimately, Star Fox Command doesn't fail our expectations, but it doesn't surpass them either. The game offers players the chance to return to the Star Fox world and its characters, and to have some genuine enjoyment while doing so. There's no denying that this is the single best air combat game on the DS and there's no shame in rewarding it justly:
"Out along the edges
Always where I burn to be
The further on the edge
The hotter the intensity
Highway to the Danger Zone
Gonna take you
Right into the Danger Zone."
