Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9106 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Nintendo
• Model: 45496737740
• Released on: 2007-01-26
• Rating: To Be Announced
• ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+
• Platform: Nintendo DS
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .75" h x 5.25" w x 4.75" l, .30 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Nintendo don’t usually drop the ball when it comes to sequels, but after the awful Star Fox Adventures and Star Fox Assault, the crew of the Great Fox have had a real struggle to remain relevant in the last few years. This new game though is by some of the same people behind the SNES original and the first successful attempt to drag the series back to its roots. The original Star Fox game was the closest any one has ever got to transposing the 2D gameplay of old school shoot ‘em-ups such as R-Type into 3D. As such all the levels were on-the-rails with tightly scripted enemy formations and set pieces. In this game though most of the missions allow you to fly in any direction (similar to all-range mode from Lylat Wars), which will still annoy fans – although at least all the action is restricted to your spacecraft for the first time in several sequels.

The controls for your craft actually work extremely well, with all movement achieved via the touch screen, combined with the button of your choice for shooting. What also works surprisingly well is the new turn-based strategic elements which frame every mission. These allow you to not only map out the movement of you and your allies’ craft but also fire and repel missiles from your mothership. To top it all there’s even a six player online mode – although like previous Star Fox games you do all end up just flying in circles the whole time. Overall though this is just enough to call of the hounds from what at one point seemed a very endangered franchise.
HARRISON DENT

Manufacturer's Description
Fox McCloud is back to battle a new evil that has emerged from the toxic oceans of the planet Venom. Join Fox in his advanced Arwing fighter as you defend the Lylat system from a massive invasion, with just a few wingmen for support. This action-packed game will have you battling an armada of hostile ships, both in the depths of space and high over enemy skies, and will test your strategic skills as you plan the perfect attack.

Players use the Nintendo DS's touch screen to manoeuvre their ship during daring dog fights. While flying, the screen not only acts as a radar - showing the locations of allies, enemies and items but is also used to steer your Arwing and drop bombs using strokes of the stylus. Players use the screen to speed up and slow down their ship by tapping the top or bottom of it. Another vital combat move performed by rubbing the touch screen is a nifty barrel roll, perfect for evading incoming fire during real-time combat.

The movement of your ship is not the only role that the touch screen plays in Star Fox Command. Players can draw up their battle plans and put their strategy skills to the ultimate test by using this screen. As commander, use the screen to draw the routes your fighter should take, then battle any enemies you encounter as you take over bases and strategically advance across the map. A master tactician will plan the best flight paths not only for themselves but also for up to four wingmen, making sure they plot the best course to intercept an enemy on the quick.

Featuring an extensive storyline, the single player mode includes over 30 levels to complete with a variety of different possible endings to achieve. After certain stages are completed, players will be given a choice about what to do next, influencing how the story ends. The Star Fox Command story mode also features over ten additional characters and ships to unlock to build your wingman support.

Featuring great multiplayer modes, Star Fox Command offers you the chance to find out who rules the skies by participating in dogfights with up to four friends via the Nintendo DS's wireless connection. Fancy taking on the world? With Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection you can! Battle it out against up to three other people from around the world and show off your supreme flying ability.

Customer Reviews

Star Fox Heads into New Dimension
Star Fox Command puts a brand new spin on a franchise that is still reeling from other changes to the winning format that made Starwing and Lylat Wars classic titles. The difference is that this time the change is not to the core gameplay. You still fly a space fighter in a 3D environment, travelling between different planets and occasionally fighting massive bosses. The new parts of the game are the tactical screen play. For each mission, you are presented by a top-down view of a large area of the planet. You are given a certain number of turns to destroy all the enemies in that area, whilst simultaneously defending your mothership, the Great Fox. For each turn, you manoeuver your ships by drawing flight paths, trying to attach groups of enemies, intercept incoming missiles and liberate captured bases. The need to work efficiently (usually the number of turns is pretty tight) and smartly (the maps consist of no-fly zones, as well as asteriods which reduce your crafts' ranges and friendly bases which extend them) adds a whole new dimension to the game.

Regrettably, unlike older Star Fox games, there are no missions which involve flying down a preset corridor, nor are there any where you have wingmen (moving two fighters to the same group of enemies only lets you choose which one to use yourself). A change which I actually welcome is a branching storyline in which you get to make choices, rather than have to meet certain gameplay conditions. Whilst this does cut down on the skill required to see every path through the game, it removes the uncertainty and unending experimentation, and the differences between the storylines means that you will appreciate the ease of seeing them all.

Gameplay is excellent, with the stylus control coming naturally, and the simultaneous radar on the lower screen proving extremely useful. Variety comes in the form of the enemies, who have to be defeated in various oblique ways, and the fact that you get to fly as a huge number of characters, each with their own individual ship. Some missions can be quite tricky, although none could really be considered difficult. Multiplayer is very good, as points are scored on collecting a star dropped by a defeated player, meaning there is loads of scope for some severe stealing.

Long time fans of the series may be disapointed by the lack of linear missions or 'save your wingman' gameplay, but aside from that this is a very solid title and you will derive a lot of enjoyment from it.

(The game is also compatible with the DS rumble pack, if you8 happen to have gotten one with Action Loop.)

Star Fox Command is a great 3D shooter for the DS.
I had Star Wing on the SNES and Lylat Wars on N64 which I both really enjoyed playing at the time. When I saw Star Fox Command out on the DS and they had gone back to the roots, as a 3D shooter I thought I've got get it. You control your arwing/spaceship using your stylus for the steering and barrel roll. The graphics are some of the best yet for the DS and music is very good too. If like me you enjoyed the others then this game is worth a look and it also has a most excellent multi-player in which up to six players can play.

Fun and boreing in equal parts, fine as long as you get it cheap
I'll address this review to 2 groups: people who've never played a Star fox game before and thus bring no emotional bagade to this game, and those who fell in love with the francise back in the SNES and N64 days.
Let's call the first group "the lucky ones".

Ok lucky ones,
what you have here is a mix between a 3D sci fi shooter and a turn based strategy game. Not a mix you usually find which makes this a fairly unique game. You and your enemy take turns moving your troops around a map then once they engage the enemy you are treated to a 3D flying and shooting section in an enclosed area which you pilot via the touch screen (instead of the usual automatic animated battles, ala Advance Wars).
Inbetween missions there are the usual 'talking head' episodes to move the story forward, a standard in every handheld turn based strategy game. The story is run of the mill and the dialog is boreing at times. The map sections start out simple and get more complicated. The early maps are a chore to play through a second time. The skip-able training mode only covers the 3D combat so you are stuck with these irritating maps, something that put me off replaying the game more then once.
The 3D combat sections work fine, they are a little to short and a very repeatative but they are enjoyable and offer some solid blasting action. The 'boss' dog fight sections are by far the best moments in the game. The muliplayer dog fights are more fun then the single player game and can be played over local wireless or online.

Overall this game is fairly unique among the DS catalog and there is some fun to be had here. It's not worth the full asking price because the story mode is too short and the strategy elements are sub standard. But the multiplayer is a lot of fun and when the 3D sections are good they are very good. Either buy this if it's cheap or persuade a friend to get it and then borrow it from them to check it out for yourself and see if it's your type of thing. There is fun to be had here, but I couldn't recommend it.

OK, now here's the review for the old school Starfox fans.
File this game under Star Fox Adventures and Star Fox Assault and pretend it doesn't exist. Dust off your Snes or your N64 (or wait for the Wii virtual console releases) and play the first two games again. This is Nintendo's 3rd attempt at doing something different with this franchise and their 3rd failure to publish a game that is anywhere near as much fun or as charming as the old school on the rails shooter and it's first sequel. It's a real shame. Forget about the unusual choice of including strategy elements in a Starfox game or boreing story, the flying/shooting sections just aren't anywhere near as good as they should be. The 3D grapphics are pretty naff too, the enemies have a lot more incommon with the baddies made of primary coloured triangle in the Snes game then the rich texture and design of the N64 game.
Here's hoping Nintendo goes back to the original formula for the next Starfox game!!!!