Is trouncing Star Fox Adventures out of style yet? What about Star Fox Assault? The past two games in this franchise took what made the series fun and did the opposite - put space-ace animal pilots on tepid, ground-based missions instead of letting them fly free. Now, nearly 10 years after Star Fox 64, we get a sequel that delivers all-shooting action while introducing entirely new strategic elements and online dogfights - and mostly does it right.

The most drastic change for Star Fox Command is its Tactics map. The Great Fox acts as your home base, launching Fox and his pals out onto the screen at the beginning of each mission, ready for battle. Enemies and their bases are peppered across the map, slowly making their way towards the Great Fox. Your task is to draw out flight plans for each member of your crew, intercept the fighters and trash their stationary bases within the time allotted and number of turns available.

Taking Star Fox down this turn-based, tactical road doesn't seem like a logical choice, but it works. Certain pilots are better equipped for various sorties, like gunning down incoming missiles or destroying a set number of targets, so allocating your pilots correctly is a life-or-death decision. You get a good mix of alien blasting plus the satisfaction of knowing you outsmarted them on their own turf. Some missions are won only by drawing and redrawing flight plans until you get it perfect, barely skimming into an enemy's range just before it strikes the Great Fox - and it can't survive even one hit.