Fox and co. return to fly the unfriendly skies next month. by Ryan Schultz

July 26, 2006 - It's no secret that Nintendo's beloved Starfox series has been seeing some turmoil as of late. While Rare's Starfox Adventures ground based missions and collect-o-thon style gameplay left players with a sour taste in their mouths, it was Namco's Starfox Assault that sent the series into a downward spiral that left its fate in jeopardy. Is there any hope for this beloved Nintendo franchise?

Enter E3 2006 and Nintendo's strong showing for its DS handheld. Among the many titles shown on the floor, a new Starfox game has emerged, looking to right the series wrongs. Under the name Starfox Command, Nintendo is really taking the series back to its roots. Gone are the hideous on foot ground missions from Adventures and Assault, Command will contain nothing but air and space battles, all of which are free roaming. Nothing on rails this time, think Ace Combat mixed with Starfox 64. Things may be looking up for the series.

So far, the only demo available was the one present at E3. There, gamers were offered some different gameplay variety. You could plot out your course on the map screen by using the stylus, drawing a line from point to point. Here, some strategy was involved, as players had to intercept enemy fighters that were heading towards the Great Fox turn by turn. If you went straight for the other missions, you could be putting the Great Fox at risk from the enemy ships.

The E3 demo also featured a training mode (featuring Slippy), easy (Krystal), medium (Fox), and hard (Falco) that showed of the shooting mechanics. While gameplay in Command is free-roaming, the game focuses on combo attacks. You are rewarded with stars and time from taking out groups of incoming enemies, or you can lock onto the nearest enemy ala Starfox 64, and take him out with a charged blast.

The biggest change this game features however, is that everything is controlled with the stylus. The bottom screen, which doubles as a radar, gives you full command over your arwing. By pulling the stylus left, right, up, and down, the arwing will follow your movements. You can double tap the top of the screen, which will cause your ship to boost, and tapping the bottom of the screen will put on the brakes. Two icons on either side of the screen will enable you to pull of loop-de-loops and u-turns. One of the more interesting mechanics comes into play when you want to detonate a bomb. Simply tap and drag the icon onto the radar, and then you can precisely drop the bomb wherever you want. Firing your lasers is a simple as pressing the shoulder button or d-pad.

The game looks great and runs at a silky smooth 30 fps. Even at this point of development the game already looks better than Starfox 64. It's also worth noting that the same team behind Command contains many of the original SF64 members so we know the game is in good hands.

Once the final game hits shelves at the end of August, it will boast more than 15 playable characters and 30 different missions. There will also be an extensive multiplayer feature, including local wireless play for up to eight people as well as four player online dogfights through the Nintendo Wifi Connection.

Features:

• Lylat needs help. Players hop into their Arwing fighter and fight through a unique branching storyline of missions, all rendered in gorgeous 3-D.
  
• Star Fox Command brings a whole new strategic element to the series with a commander's view of the mission. Using the touch screen, players can draw the routes they and their teammates will take, then battle the enemies they encounter as they take over bases and strategically advance across the map.
  
• Players can blow their friends out of the sky as they dogfight with up to eight players over a local wireless connection or take on up to four players from around the world on Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
  

By Ryan Schultz
CCC Freelance Writer

Saving the universe one DS at a time. by Cole Smith

May 16, 2006 - Star Fox is coming to the DS and it's not taking any prisoners. Expect the action to be relentless and intense as you get onboard your Airwing fighter to battle all the evil in the galaxy.

Star Fox is a 3D space shooter that commemorates the early days of the original Star Fox series. Utilizing the touch screen, and drawing with the stylus, players can outline paths through the star system that fellow squad members can follow. You want to get in the best possible position for combat, so there is some strategy to pulling off these moves. These moves are turn-based and you'll want to avoid going through dangerous places such as the asteroid belt. Once in position you are charged with the task of guarding your area and not letting any enemy craft past. When you are prepared to do battle the gameplay switches to real time.

In battle mode you use the stylus to maneuver your Airwing. The face buttons are for firing the weapons. It's a little tricky at first to get the hang of the stylus but in the five minutes that I spent playing Star Fox I was able to improve my skills dramatically by the end of the session. You have to make very careful and deliberate strokes otherwise the craft becomes jerky and unstable. A targeting reticle helps keep the enemy in your sight. Once you got him, blast him.

Overall the game looks as good as the original N64 version. Of course some concessions have to be made and you'll notice that there are less enemies onscreen at one time but the ones that are onscreen offer plenty of challenge. The ships look great, as do the foxy characters.

We've been told the game will include an eight-player local-area connection mode in addition to a four-player Wi Fi multi-player mode.

Features:

• Lylat needs help. Players hop into their Arwing fighter and fight through a unique branching storyline of missions, all rendered in gorgeous 3-D.
  
• Star Fox DS brings a whole new strategic element to the series with a commander's view of the mission. Using the touch screen, players can draw the routes they and their teammates will take, then battle the enemies they encounter as they take over bases and strategically advance across the map.
  
• Players can blow their friends out of the sky as they dogfight with up to eight players over a local wireless connection or take on up to four players from around the world on Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

By Cole Smith
CCC Senior Writer