Star Fox: Command for Nintendo DS Reviews by Gamers

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I allowed the clerk at my local game store to play the copy of Star Fox Command that was lodged in my DS. "Is it good?" he asked, "Like Starfox 64?"
Wow. Was 64 really the last good Starfox game?It's hard to say if Command is as good, because it's such a major departure from the series' norms. Part turn-based strategy, part dogfight, Command is a strange combination that works surprisingly well (chalk one up to "two great tastes taste great together"). You and the computer take turns moving units around the playing field. Flight paths are drawn with the stylus, and the "fog of war" can be removed by scrubbing it away. You have only a few turns to complete your objectives, so you must choose your paths wisely.
When one of your fighters engages an enemy squadron or base, play switches to dogfight mode. The stylus based control is fantastic for maneuvering your fighter, but bogs down other operations, like rolling. But even with great controls, I never felt like my actual piloting skills were being challenged, like in the classic rail levels of yesteryear. All skirmish stages are square and flat, with ugly, polygonal enemies peppered throughout. To win, you must destroy specific enemies. These fights aren't bad, just repetitive and a little slow, sometimes. Dogfights are dragged down by a timer that supposedly represents fuel, although apparently all fighters share the same tank. Timers were originally used in arcade games to extort money from patrons. It's time to get rid of them.
The sheer number of playable characters is amazing: get ready to play as every person who ever flew a ship in the Starfox universe, as well as several new ones. Each different character also has their own unique craft, and they're all pretty well balanced. There are also nine different endings, each interesting and blessed with some slick artwork.
Multiplayer is simple and fun, but it's a shame the strategic element wasn't included.

Nintendo did a great job of adapting the controls of the Arwing to the Nintendo DS, and I have to say that flying is pleasantly easy in Star Fox: Command. That said, I find the single player mode to be terribly disappointing. I really enjoyed the divergent paths of Star Fox 64, but Command includes too much divergence. I want every run through single player mode to culminate in an all-out assault on Venom. Also, every mission is in the free range mode featured in Star Fox 64. There are no linear levels, which was really disappointing, as I found the linear levels in Star Fox 64 to be the best, as they built dramatic tension well and gave you interesting things to fly circles around. While I haven't tried it, I expect this game is much better off sticking to multiplayer.