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Squad Command is a turn-based strategy set within the Games Workshop tabletop future fantasy universe, falling somewhere between Field Commander (released last summer) and the X-Com PC games of the 90’s. If any aspect of the last sentence makes you want to stop reading, probably best to do so. If, like me, you have fond memories of both tabletop and turn based video gaming (check my top ten to see where my loyalties lie), then venture on. This isn’t a title likely to win new fans (and is therefore destined not to sell many copies), but for those with a penchant for this sort of thing, it plays a very competent and enjoyable skirmish. Just don’t expect to sound cool when singing its praises to non-believers…
The graphical style is reminiscent of a zoomed-in Killzone Liberation, with similar destroyed cityscapes, vulnerable squad members and pleasantly rugged war machines all looking the part. Sounds are fair too with satisfying booms and rat-at-tats, although the jingoistic banter from your marines (“We will rule the Universe!” etc etc) gets a bit wearing and Chaos troops all sound worryingly like Davros from Doctor Who. Control is intuitive (c’mon, it’s a turn based strategy! How could you muck that up!?) and the isometric viewpoint works well, only occasionally blocking your view (although when it does, the manual camera control via the nub is nigh on useless). As a package it isn’t going to win any awards, but all works perfectly well. During play, the biggest departure from past games of this ilk is the scrapping of a grid-based approach, giving the player control of a (relatively) free-form movement line to manoeuvre troops and a line of sight for shooting at baddies. This flexibility is largely successful, with the tension of lining up a shot compounded by destructible scenery- there is a real risk that a misdirected rocket could pulverise your cover, opening your inept troops to enemy retaliation. Rather than all-out war, the game sets missions for your 6-unit team (usually comprised of a mix of scouts, marines and a vehicle) such as reconnaissance, rescue or defence of a strategic point. This usually boils down to destruction of a specified target or annihilation of all enemy troops on the map, and whilst objectives are kept relatively simple throughout this is never detrimental to the overall experience. Elsewhere gameplay tends to ape past approaches to turn-based strategy, with limited movement points per turn (reduced when carrying heavy equipment), a weapons outfitting screen before missions, and indicators to tell you how far you can go and still shoot. The basics works as well as ever and are augmented by nice touches such as using left over points to increase shot accuracy, and the ability to leave units on ‘overwatch’ (if an enemy strays within their line of site your marine is ready and can fire first). Especially well implemented (and nerve racking!) is the ability to watch and listen to enemy troops moving within their turn, either via the game view or the overhead map. This gives some indication of the direction of attack and allows you to react accordingly.  Tactically Squad Command is fairly successful. Levels are well thought out and just the right size for a portable title (no tiny arenas as in Field Commander, no endless wastelands to trek through), and enemy AI generally offers a challenge, although foes can be a bit indecisive on occasion resulting in missed opportunities to punish player mistakes. The difficulty ramps up considerably when enemy vehicles such as tanks and big armoured dreadnoughts (think Ed209 from Robocop if you aren’t au fait with the Warhammer world) appear- at which point carefully selected cover suddenly starts to feel decidedly flimsy. The meat of the game throughout is ensuring that your troops cover each other and are able to deal with anything that might stalk menacingly into their path, and in this it is truly successful, the team dynamic helped greatly by the small size of your group. When you unexpectedly loose a squad member the urge to avenge them is strong, although it may well have been even more harrowing an experience if you were able to name and reuse troops throughout the campaign (unlike the classic X-Com games you get new grunts at each mission start). Due to the map sizes and mission lengths progress is relatively swift, and the game subsequently offers plenty of content without overstaying its welcome. As the industry bigwigs are keen to point out, video games are now a major business. 2007 in particular has played host to some of the most widely publicised, biggest budget titles yet, with resulting headlines and column space dedicated to technical wizardry and increased realism. On the back of this, I for one welcome the arrival of a game that’s, well, just a game. Lovers of reaction-testing action and visually sumptuous titles tread carefully- Squad Command is deliberately (necessarily) slow paced and revels in doing the basics well whilst never comes across as a flashy technical achievement. Because of this it is unlikely to attract a huge audience, and certainly isn’t flawless, but I found it to be a fun and addictive addition to a genre I’ve always enjoyed. For that, it has to be worth an 8. Score: 8/10
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