Review: Star Fox Command (DS)

What the hell is this? I know it's a bit late to review Star Fox Command, but it drives me absolutely insane. There's no holding back this time.

Star Fox Command has a solid presentation and nice graphics, similar to Metroid Prime Hunters (which is overrated, but few dare admit it). However, when playing flight simulators, draw distance is important. Scenery and textures are really impressive in this game, but object pop-up ruins the whole experience. Your only friend is the radar, since most enemies don't show up on-screen until you're flying past them. If you're lucky enough to spot an enemy in the distance, the ship you're controlling is right in the middle of the screen, effectively blocking your line of sight. Thus, combat tend to get confusing when there are red dots all over the radar screen but no enemies on the actual game screen.

The turn-based strategic map mode of the game (it's in the title: Star Fox Command), where you draw routes with the stylus, is well implemented but often a matter of frustrating trial and error. All in all, I really dislike Star Fox Command. Oh, I almost forgot: Everything is a race against the clock. Each mission has a given number of seconds, steadily running out. While time trials can be fun and challenging, they often become stressful and, in essence, distracting and frustrating. What I do enjoy about this game is flying through hoops, the gibberish generator and the talking toad Slippy.
3/10