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Good: Omits on-foot missions, good stylus control, multiple pilots, Wi-Fi

Bad: Fairly odd "strategy" portion, bland environments

Still Infuriating To Even Look At: Slippy

I think it's safe to say that the majority of gamers were turned off by the last two Starfox efforts. Adventures almost completely omitted what made the SNES and 64 versions great (the Arwing missions), and Assault had far too many half-baked on-foot missions. With Starfox Command for the DS, Nintendo has returned the series to its Arwing roots.

While the actual in-flight gameplay feels familiar, Command introduces new elements to the series. Prior to each mission, you're presented with a map that features each of your available pilots, the Great Fox, and enemy squadrons and motherships. Each of your Arwings has a limited amount of fuel and turns to eliminate the enemy.

Enemy squadrons have arrows next to them to indicate their movement speed, and it's your job to intercept them before they reach the Great Fox. If the enemy has bases in the area, these can shoot missiles as well.

Once you intercept a group of enemies, you're thrown into the action. You'll take control of one of the pilots (Fox, Falco, Slippy, Krystal, and a couple surprises) and go into a free-flying area to eliminate the enemy. This is decidedly different than Starfox 64, which featured both free-flying areas and on-rails missions. Honestly, I truly do miss the latter and wish they had been included in this title.

I really enjoyed the fact that you can control multiple ships, as each features definite pros and cons. Falco has a great multiple lock-on system, Slippy has a useful plasma cannon, and Fox controls just like he always has. All flight controls are performed with the stylus, which works surprisingly well. To do a barrel roll, it's as simple as moving it to the left and right quickly. U-turns and flips are performed by tapping their specific icons on the bottom screen.

Each stage has a set number of stars that you need to collect before you can progress. If an enemy mothership is present, you'll have to defeat it by performing a rolling attack through a series of beacons until you ultimately drive your ship right into the bottom of it (a la Randy Quaid in Independence Day). It's a pretty fun way of ending a level, and you'll get added bonuses if you clear the area of all enemies.

Taking down missiles is entirely different than the rest of the levels. To do this, you must fly through beacons to keep on the tail of the missile, while simultaneously shooting it. I really didn't care much for these missions, as it was too easy to miss a beacon while trying to hit the target, causing you to fail. It doesn't help that the "lock-on" box is red, causing it to overlap the beacons.

Like previous entries in the series, Starfox Command offers multiple paths through the narrative, some yielding entirely different results than the others. The standard path generally keeps the team together for the most part (sans Krystal, who is a pretty big part of the story), while another path may be entirely Falco-centric. Several different endings are available, depending on decisions you make between missions.

The new mission structure is unique, but it tends to make the overall game feel more fragmented. A single mission may involve 10 or more of these "mini-battles," for instance. Some end with boss fights, and most are pretty unique and entertaining. Pigma makes a return in odd form, and provides a decent challenge even for veteran Starfox players.

For the first time in the franchise, Starfox can be played online. They're fairly standard four-player deathmatches, but they're also considerably fun. ROB the robot will occasionally drop powerups and health pickups, and your objective is to collect as many stars as possible (earned by shooting down rivals). Online play is presented in the exact same fashion as Mario Kart DS and Tetris DS, and is entirely lag-free.

Graphically, Command is a bit of a disappointment. Most levels are uninspired and bland, and feature very little to look at. The levels on Corneria looked great on the 64, but it's just drab in this installment. On the audio front, it remains very faithful to the series with some decent tunes and voice samples. It even gives you the option to record your own voice for the characters to speak in.

I'm definitely glad to see Starfox return to the skies and get rid of the terrible on-foot missions. If a DS sequel featured some classic on-rails areas and perhaps omitted the odd "strategy" element, I think this series has the potential to return to its former glory. Starfox Command is a step in the right direction for the series.

Graphics: 7.5

Sound: 7.5

First Play: 8.0

Replay Value: 8.0

Gameplay: 8.3

Overall: 8.1