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StarFox Command

For a long time we have been fans of the Starfox series: so un-cool yet cool at the same time, it has spawned a series of games quite unlike most other first-party franchises in their form and type. Unlike most Nintendo games, there is a great deal of violence, an incredibly strong storyline, a sense of teamwork and a continuity that runs throughout the whole of the series -Mario, Zelda and others (Metroid excepted) are the standard non-linear type of Nintendo game that do not necessarily precipitate the others, nor follow any real continuity. Starfox therefore is unlike these other Nintendo franchises.

And unlike most other Nintendo-owned franchises, only two of the games are any good.

Without any doubt, the Starfox series has been living on the reputation set by Starwing (Starfox) and the N64 sequel, Lylat Wars. Both intensely driven, powerful games that drew in the player by creating the feeling of camaraderie, desperation and a constant motion towards the inevitable goal. Starfox Adventures and Starfox Assault were two abortive attempts to bring the series up to date, two epic howlers that failed to live up to the promise of their worthy predecessors.

And now, we are presented with a handheld version of the game for the first time on the mighty DS. Does it live up to its predecessors? Can it be the game to finally bring the franchise back into the A-List? The answer to both these questions is: Um... well... yes and no, really.

After switching the game on, the player is given he usual back-story of the game: The team has split, Fox is on his own and there's trouble a-brewin' again in the Lylat system. This time round the evil menace to be confronted has been biding its time under the poisonous surfaces of Venom's vast Oceans. After the previous game, Venom was quarantined by the Cornerian fleet and believed to be subdued. Famous last words, anyone?

Like lightning, the new enemy swept across the system, eliminating all resistance in its path: the Cornerian fleet is decimated, General Pepper taken ill and replaced by that old war hound, Peppy. Fox is totally cut off from his friends with almost no hope of survival, and yet the plucky former leader of Team Star Fox does not give in, does not falter and steps up once again into the breach to fight for his friends and anthropomorphic animals the universe over. Huzzah!

This new adventure sees a number of significant changes in the style of play, not in the least because the designers have decided to implement a "touch only" state of affairs. The game is almost entirely touch-controlled, with the fire action mapped to any button you care to press other than the "Select" and "Start" buttons. Sliding the stylus around the touch screen causes the ship to bank, roll or speed up and slow down dependant on the areas of the screen that you touch.

Does it work? The answer is again: yes and no. And unfortunately, this is the defining trait of Starfox Command: it really is a game that is successful and unsuccessful in so many ways.

Two immediately noticeable additions to the game are the timer and the "command" sections. Also, players familiar with Lylat Wars will recognise that all battles are now played in "all range" mode in enclosed arenas. The "Command" sections occur pre-battle and are highly tactical in nature. The Great Fox arrives in a sector that is clouded by a fog of war and it is up to the pilots to determine where the enemies and bases are, all while maintaining a protective CAP around the Great Fox. The interface is touch-screen and the method of play is turn-based much like Advance Wars: when an enemy is encountered the game switches to battle selection mode (there can be several battles to fight, one after the other). Rather than fighting with the squadron, players take on the role of the pilot that encounters the enemy and fly it solo. When two pilots engage the same squadron, it is up to the player to choose who will take the fight. Much of the camaraderie is lost this way, but the game becomes much more tactical in that you must move the appropriate fighter to engage the right enemy, and as turns are few in number, every decision makes a difference.

The "on rails" experience is gone: players are now confined to an arena of limited size and given a time in which to defeat a certain type of enemy. Failure to destroy the target enemies and collect their "core" results in the destruction of your ship. While adding realism and forcing the player to consider their fighting skills, some of the charm from previous games is lost. True, the "on rails" experience was limited too, but at the very least the craft displayed a real sense of motion. On the other hand, the timer coupled with the arena-style battles and target enemies all compliment each other very well to create a dynamic experience that rewards careful play.