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»Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command
"Don’t let the publisher fool you: this is a good one."
I’ve become accustomed to THQ publishing crap title after crap title,
with the semi-decent WWE Smackdown VS Raw games as an exception. With
that said, if you like Advance Wars and Warcraft (and not World of
Warcraft, I’m talking about the original), stop reading now and go buy
this game. It’s good, it’s different, and it’s something new for
portable strategy enthusiasts. Yes, it’s turn-based and yes, there are
a lot of space marines and laser cannons. What’s more, there’s even a
free online mode for those unfortunate enough to have friends that
enjoy your gaming flavor.
When I think about Warhammer 40,000, I instantly think of
the world’s biggest nerd store, which was located next to the arcade in
which I found previous employment. Seriously, these guys made even me
look cool. Even so, my interest was piqued more than a few times as to
what exactly was so great about that game. I mean, in Dungeons &
Dragons there’s the whole role-playing thing, but that was absent from
this game of miniature figurines. What was so good about this? Well,
one day I had a sit down with one of the less dorky people that worked
there. After a thorough explanation and demonstration, I started to see
that it was the strategic element that pulls people in. The level of
strategy is staggering, but how does this game hold up?
The short answer: it doesn’t. It’s nothing like the
pen-and-paper game, aside from the weapons used and the names of the
units. However, this is a great turn-based strategy game in its own
right. The limit of six units is somewhat annoying, but it does make
for a faster pace. Starting out, you’ll be in charge of 6 scout units
with basic weapon options, but as you proceed in the campaign, you’ll
get new units and more weapon options.
This game uses a system similar to the Fallout series,
where players are given a certain amount of action points per turn and
every action taken depletes a set number of that allotment. If you
spend all your points attacking enemies, you won’t be able to
counterattack when it’s their turn. If you do delay blowing your load,
you will be able to attack anyone who steps into your cone of vision
before they can attack back. This adds a huge level of strategy, but
also forces players to move in a more cautious manner, trying to offset
every bit of weakness your placement may force on you.
The campaign offers a great challenge, but there are
problems with the camera, which can be a bit of a nagging pain. Often I
found that destroying the fully indestructible obstructions of view
made the game much easier. However, doing this is counter-productive:
it also destroys your cover. In the end, it’s almost as if you need to
choose between seeing the enemy and being able to take cover from enemy
fire. A great feature they could add in a sequel would be the ability
to see from a unit’s viewpoint for aiming purposes.
Camera angles aside, the rest of the game is absolutely
great. Graphically, it’s much better than I had expected, based on what
I had seen in screenshots of the game. Perhaps this is due to the
fluidity of the units’ movements or perhaps it’s actually due to a
proper scale, allowing players to view the sprites in full detail,
while at the same time, hiding any flaws in the unit designs or any
details of the surrounding buildings or other forms of cover.
One thing that took a little bit of learning was the
controls. I expected a more complex implementation, but the only
complexities you’ll find here is the use of the multiple buttons.
Circle toggles to aim mode, allowing you to fire at obstacles and such,
destroying them like I mentioned earlier. Hitting square allows you to
move whole groups at once, but selecting your group is a bit of a pain
with this method. The X button fires on an acquired target and the
D-Pad moves your selected units around the field.
After the campaign mode, you can play some multi-player
games to further your enjoyment of the game. My ability to play online
is hampered by my poor connection at the moment, so I won’t be able to
comment on the multiplayer aspect.
In the end, this is the best non-RPG strategy game I’ve
played on the PSP. The ability to find and destroy cover really adds to
the whole strategy experience. I hope more games implement this
element. If you’re looking for a good strategy game on the PSP, pick up
Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command.
Article by: Bloodspoor
Posted on: Mar. 15th, 2008 |
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Review Recap |
| Gameplay |
| The strategy element is strong and the action is well-paced and fluid. I rarely found myself wishing the game was faster or more robust with control options. |
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Graphics |
| This game looks fantastic as long as you don’t look too closely. When you do, you start to notice that the resolution of the models isn’t that high and that the buildings lack much detail. |
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Sound |
| There’s really nothing to say here. Standard-fare sound effects, good music that doesn’t make you want to shut it off, but at the same time, nothing leaped out to tell me that I should own this soundtrack. |
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Replay Value |
| For me, I found that the missions themselves were fun to go through a few times, but without any way to create your own stages or go through previous stages with custom unit layouts the single player mode only holds your interest for so long. Having not played the multi-player mode, I cannot comment on the state of that. Assuming you have a friend to play with or plan to play online, I’d raise the score by a point or two. |
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