Warhammer 40K: Squad Command

For everyone who--like me--got really excited about this game because of hours of fun with Dawn of War (DoW, also published by THQ) rather than because you love the table top game BE WARNED. While Squad Command (SC) taps into the darkly religious galactic battlefield that is Warhammer 40k it doesn't convey the frantic ultra-violence so palpable in DoW and its expansions. That's no surprise, however, given that SC is turn-based.

And that's no surprise, either. Turn-based strategy is a genre in the exclusive purview of handhelds these days. This game is no FF Tactics but it does share some vaguely RPG-like characteristics with that title and its progeny. For example, you can micromanage your squad members in terms of weaponry. But this is more about being true to the table top experience of point-building, I suspect (having never played it), than getting you attached to your troops. They do change from mission to mission, after all. I wonder, and encourage someone with knowledge of the table top rules to comment on, to what degree those rules are part of this game a la D&D Tactics.

In terms of music, graphics, and overall presentation, SC is about average or a bit above average for PSP. It will neither knock your socks off nor make your eyes bleed. In that regard, it's not a great introduction to Warhammer 40k. The 40k world relies heavily upon its legendary aesthetic and this platform can't sell it like a beautiful, Pentium-powered PC game. Part and parcel of that aesthetic draw is the wide array of faction-specific designs: you can look at any unit and know which faction it belongs to. This game, which only covers Space Marines and Chaos Space Marines, doesn't mine into that wealth of creativity. But it does cover those two factions in terms of troops, weapons, and vehicles pretty well. I haven't seen them yet but there are even supposed to be Grey Knights in SC!

The biggest drawback about SC, however, is that there are only fifteen missions. I don't know what the capacity of a UMD is but I savor every moment of 40k that doesn't involve incredibly expensive unpainted miniatures. Fifteen missions are too few. There is obviously no skirmish mode against the AI to make up for it although you can play Chaos in multiplayer. Ultimately, thirty bucks for fifteen missions is very price effective when you consider how much dough you'd need to shell out for fifteen missions in table top. The bottom line is that if you really like the 40k universe but can't afford table top, this will make you happy if only for a short while. But if you're looking for more DoW, look somewhere else . . . and tell me when you find it.

Warhammer 40k: Squad Command (PSP version)

Quick Review....

I'm already a big fan of 40k, and this game fits the bill for instant and portable 40k action. The turn-based, semi-realtime control works well with the action point system. In-game graphics and cut scenes are great. The missions are pretty straight forward (kill all enemies or get to a destination alive or survive x turns/waves of baddies). My only complaint is the overall all game is pretty short (only 15 missions I believe). There is some replay value in replaying the missions, to try to get a higher score, but more missions or playing the same maps as the enemy would have added more value.

Overall: 4/5

I've never played any of the Warhammer video games or table top games, so I definitely went out on a limb when getting this game. I did a little research online by looking at demo videos and reading some reviews. I've just started playing and finished the first mission. I also played an online game. For someone who has only played a couple strategy games (Command and Conquer 3 and The Battle for Middle Earth II), I found this game to be intriguing, visually appealing, and just plain fun. The controls are pretty intuitive and easy to pick up. It can be a little tricky moving your cursor around with the d-pad. The camera control with the analog stick is pretty worthless. Finding an online game can take time (if you are lucky enough to find someone else out there at all). Graphics look great and the sound effects are pretty much what you'd expect. Selecting weapons is easy and learning the action point system (AP) takes no time at all. For those who are hardcore Warhammer fans, this game might leave something to be desired (I realize that the Warhammer universe is huge and well-traversed). However, as far as handheld turn-based strategy games go, Squad Command satisfies.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 14 reviews  3.9 out of 5 stars