Warhammer 40k: Squad Command

by THQ

Product Features

• Compelling single player game consisting of 15 unique missions.
• 9 unique multiplayer maps for Local or Global games, with small, medium and large map variants to cater for games from 2 to 8 players.
• Fully destructible, real time 3D battlefields mean that no two games will be the same.
• Pick from two Space Marine chapters or two Chaos Space Marine Legions to play as in Multiplayer games in battles between Imperium vs. Imperium, Forces of Chaos vs. Forces of Chaos, or Imperium vs. Forces of Chaos.
• Over 20 ranged and close combat weapons taken directly from the Warhammer 40,000 universe, including the Bolter, Plasma Gun, Chainsword and Power Fist.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000SH3XFE
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 5 x 0.8 inches ; 3 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: December 18, 2007
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,871 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #4 in Video Games > Nintendo DS > Action > Military & Espionage
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: Nintendo DS

Amazon.com

Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command allows gamers to take control of the Space Marines of the Ultramarines chapter. Engage in combat through turn-based strategy while working through a single-player storyline that includes 13 cinematically-tied missions. A mulitplayer mode allows gamers to team up as either the Iperium of Man or Chaos Space Marines and play through 9 missions challenging other gamers from around the world.

Features:

• 9 multiplayer maps for local or global games, sized small, medium, and large to accommodate 2 to 8 players
• Fully destructible 3D battlefields
• Over 20 ranged and close combat weapons taken from the Warhammer 40,000 universe, including the Bolter, Plasma Gun, Chainsword and Power Fist

Product Description

In Warhammer 40000: Squad Command gamers play as the elite Space Marines of the Ultramarines chapter and strive to combat the encroaching evil of the ruthless and daemonic influenced Chaos Space Marines through several cinematically-tied missions. Format: NINTENDO DS Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: RP UPC: 785138361390 Manufacturer No: 36139

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Above Average, January 9, 2008

By 

Matthew Haberfeld - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Warhammer 40k: Squad Command (Video Game)

Not to be too blunt, but this game is completely focused on the turn based combat. Your units do not gain experience, nor is there any kind of overlying campaign strategy or world map. While the game's scope is quite limited, it does manage to provide an excellent combat engine and some very fun engagements.

Before the mission, each of your units can choose the weapons that they will take into battle. All units have a default weapon with unlimited ammunition such as a bolter, the Warhammer equivalent of a submachine gun, and sometimes you can choose a secondary weapon. Many of the "secondary" weapons are highly explosive, and the environment is fully destructible. There are lots of walls and pipes to blow up, plus wrecked tanks and supply boxes, etc. The first few missions require you to use the terrain as it stands because you really don't have the firepower to reduce everything to a parking lot, but your arsenal will quickly expand to include rocket launchers, lasers, and other devastating weapons that can quickly turn everything poking out of the ground more than 6 inches to dust.

Your units have a certain number of action points that they can use each turn. Moving a certain distance uses up an action point, and each weapon has a base AP cost which the player can increase to get a more accurate shot. Your units can duck behind low walls and other objects, effectively preventing them from being fired upon. Oddly, ducking costs 0 AP, so you can stand up, use all your AP shooting, and then duck at the end of the turn out of harm's way. However, your opponent can do the same, and the environment does not lend itself towards static defenses. The longer you stay in the same place, the more likely your cover will be obliterated by a plasma cannon or some other nasty explosive device.

Aiming is handled nicely in Squad Command. When you move the cursor over an enemy, the game automatically changes to firing mode, or you can toggle firing mode on and off manually. The game draws a direct line from your unit to the target, and the color of the line indicates the relative accuracy of the shot. Green is high accuracy, yellow is moderate, and red is poor. A black line indicates that you have no direct line of fire, although if the enemy is several screens away it can be difficult to see exactly what is blocking your shot. Additionally, the game shows you the possible level of innaccuracy in the form of a wide arc on either side of the line. As you increase your accuracy by spending more AP, you can watch this arc become thinner and thinner. Overall, the game does a very good job of giving the player the tools to evaluate the quality of any given shot without causing a great deal of unintentional mistakes or friendly fire.

I think everything that is in Squad Command is well done. It's the things that the game left out that are the real disappointments. For instance, during the opponent's turn, the game does not focus the camera on the enemy, so quite frequently you just get a message that your unit was killed by Chaos forces and you have no idea what just happened. The 2nd screen on the DS is particularly helpful here because the map is always displayed on the top screen so you can at least see which unit is moving even if you can't scroll fast enough to see what happened.

The single player campaign only lets you play as the space marines, which leaves a large amount of the Warhammer franchise unused. There are no space Orks or Eldar, etc. which would have been nice but is obviously out of the scope of this game. On the bright side, the space marine faction seems fully developed, allowing you to use tanks and other vehicles along with recon and standard marine units.

For the most part, the combat engine is good and I'm not disappointed with it. But the fact that it composes the entirety of the game is a little bit of a letdown. Just like Rebelstar Tactical Command on the GBA, this game feels more like a proof of concept that a full title. There is no unit experience and your marines don't carry over from mission to mission. There's no world map or base of operations, no equipment management or soldier statistics. At the end of the day I'm still left asking why a game released in 2007 has fewer features than a game released in 1993. As it stands, Squad Command is not a bad deal at $2 per mission, but the game won't last you a long time unless you are really zealous about the multiplayer. Hopefully in the near future we can see a combat engine like this implemented in a game with more features, and more Warhammer factions.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile, but nothing to write home about, December 21, 2008

By 

Brian Long "Brian" (Ogden, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Warhammer 40k: Squad Command (Video Game)

Squad Command is a turn based strategy set in the 40k verse between the Ultramarines and the Word Bearers of Chaos on a far flung Imperial world. You follow the Marines as they attempt to uncover the root of the heresy, using Scouts, Marines, Terminators, Land Speeders and Raiders as instruments of the Emperors wrath.

Squad Command makes its mark with the battle system itself. Just about everything is destructible, and the environment can be used to great effect. Theres no longer the invincible wall to hide behind. You blow up the wall, then kill the enemies that were ducking right behind it. A variety of special weapons allow for a fair amount of customization, and its necessary to customize to some degree for the later missions. The AP system is also well laid out. You can run and shoot and run, or you can use a lone guy on the horizons entire turn to line up a powerful shot that's all but guaranteed to hit despite the range. Vehicles are a bit frustrating because you can't drive over terrain, but otherwise the entire system works well. The AI is below average, and basically charges at first opportunity, but the missions can be difficult if you blindly charge ahead.

The story is lackluster and is laid out with mostly still shots and text, and is a predictable outcome, but the gameplay and multiplayer function make up for a rushed background. The controls and combat system work well, and it'll definitely satisfy any strategy addict.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Squad Command is Enjoyable Turn Based Combat, February 7, 2010

By 

Richard Hayward (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Warhammer 40k: Squad Command (Video Game)

I've just finished the 15 scenarios and really enjoyed it. The scope of the single player game is limited. I'm a fan of turn based combat, and take plenty of time to work my way through battles. This game really suited this style of play, another DS game in this style is Panzer Tactics. I've been enjoying the game with its dramatic intro music and great sound effects. One of the voices (scouts) is something like Buzz Lightyear. The graphics are not great, and the theme reminds me of games of Doom and Quake in the 1990s. The gameplay is fun, and relies on the player learning some of the basic concepts of the game: choosing a good mix of secondary weapons and the right quantity of ammo for the six members of your squad, the overwatch system which operates as a cone of short range cover which you or your opponents lay down, the shoot-hide method of maintaining your own cover and protecting your units, the detect-and-run method of locating yet avoiding your opponents, engaging only a limited number of enemy at one time, and always keep your long range weapons at long range, while using short range weapons for your scouts. If you love graphics and fast paced action, this game is not for you! I have tried the download play, and this IS fast paced, as you get around 60 or 90 seconds per turn - I need more time than that! I couldn't see much difference between the different sides that you can get in the multiplayer download game. I haven't tried the internet game since we haven't been able to connect our DS to our wireless network. Note if you have not had a teen rated game in your house before (like me because our DS is primarily for the kids), keep and play the game away from the kids.

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