Announced at the Game Developers Conference in March, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks was first playable for us at E3 earlier this month. Crecente put stylus to DS and reported back. But the man was pressed for time.

Thankfully, a build of the new Zelda was carried to New York by some Nintendo reps, so I could play more of that E3 demo and discover just how bossy Spirit Tracks' Link can be.

What Is It?
Nintendo-made action-RPG. Stars a kid dressed in green. Something about a sword, a shield. This one's on a DS, set 100 years after the last one on the platform, The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass.

What We Saw
The E3 demo that was brought to NYC this week was divided into Dungeon, Boss and Train sections. I got timed-out by the demo in the Dungeon, skipped the Boss, rode the Train to pig-enraging victory – only to be beaten by the train's boss enemy. That's a lot of failure on my part, if you parse that out. So please don't.

How Far Along Is It?
Spirit Tracks is set for a fall release. It's clearly working with the art style – and maybe the engine – of Phantom Hourglass, so it looks solid already.

What Needs Improvement?
Train Schedule: Yes, controlling Link on his train is fun. The player can control both the speed of the train and the switches the determine how the tracks will guide the train at intersections. Link's got a cannon he can fire at threatening enemies who ride on boarback up to his train (tap anywhere to fire that cannon, as seen in Phantom Hourglass). The player can tug a rope icon to blow a whistle. But… there's something strange about how the train missions are designed. That's just it: if the demo is an accurate representation of the structure of the final game, then note that these are missions, not moments encountered seamlessly while traveling from one dungeon to the next. The one in the demo is confined to a single-screen's worth of map, a loose spaghetti-tangle of train tracks that leads past some enemy trains and into a cave where a boss dwells. In other words, it's like a side mission. It's not an emergent part of open-world exploration, which is what Link's adventures on horseback in Ocarina of Time or on the deck of a boat in Wind Waker were. I'm the first to cheer Zelda innovating, but there's a hint here of a choppier flow for this next Zelda. I need to see more to be convinced this won't detract from the joy of open exploration found in most Zeldas.

The New Item Blows: In the dungeon, Link's got some sort of wind-blown propeller thing that shoots a breeze wherever Link is pointing. This is useful for getting keys past walls of flame. You make the item emit its rush of air by… blowing into the DS mic. Those of us who like to play their DS on major metropolitan subways with dignity intact are officially dismayed.

What Should Stay The Same?
Gold-Standard Controls: The Phantom Hourglass had one of the best control schemes on the DS. It's almost all stylus, with touches on open areas moving Link to those points, swipes at nearby enemies making him melee-attack and distant taps firing projectiles. Simple, smart, adaptable to many items and weapons, including that train cannon.

The Phantom: Crecente already wrote about how the demo introduces a Phantom partner character who patrols the demo's dungeon with Link. He can carry Link over lava and be commanded to stand on switches. Better than that, the player defines the Phantom's walking path by drawing a route for him on the screen, just as they drew the path of Link's boomerang in Phantom Hourglass. (If any close readers are noticing a number of echoes of Star Fox Command's winning RTS-lite design, I'm with you). Here's what we didn't report last time: drawing the Phantom's path into that of an enemy sets the Phantom on the attack. Let him fight Link's battles. The Phantom seemed like a more satisfyingly powerful, and more easily controllable partner, than those allies who showed up in some Wind Waker dungeons.

The Harassment of Pigs: I was tired of hacking at chickens with Link's sword in other Zelda games, anyway. Peaceful pigs wandering near the train tracks Link is chugging over are perfect targets for cannonballs. Warning: they turn red and attack the train.

Final Thoughts
Nintendo often demos its Zelda games with discrete, themed sections, as it did for the E3 presentation of Spirit Tracks. It makes it hard to determine if some of the confines apparent in what we're playing are only in the demo or representative of the structure of the full game. Either way, there was plenty that was fun in this build, even if some of it felt confining.

Those who have become fatigued of the Zelda series are weary of repetition of certain items and types of quests. Those are not elements that could be judged in the E3 Spirit Tracks demo. People who are still delighted by Zelda enjoy discovering new ways for Link to get around his world and new puzzle mechanics in his dungeons. In the E3 demo, both of those showed well.

An odd embrace by Nintendo's PR department of the fact that Starfox Command will make you motion sick:

I know I've said this before, but Nintendo PR is creative, and nowhere is this more evident than in their video game schwag. Be it chocolate or hamster food, we've seen all manner of goods arrive at our office stamped with the Nintendo seal of approval. however, Star Fox Command's arrival marked the first time we have ever been sent a barf bag. Yes, in celebration of the game's release, Nintendo sent over an appropriately labeled Star Fox air sickness bag, and accompanying Star Fox Command bags of dry roasted nuts. I suppose if playing on the Nintendo DS ever gets too nauseating, I now have the tools for the job.

Look for another exciting Kotaku contest coming soon. The prize? "Starfox Command Memorabilia Filled With Florian Eckhardt's Own Steaming Review!" Florian Eckhardt

Foxes on a Plane [eToyChest]

It's true that the multiplayer mode could use more maps and that the single player mode is a touch too short. And yes it would be nice if some of the strategy elements of the single player mode were available on the multiplayer mode. But even with those issues, Star Fox can be a lot of fun to play.

Since no one had the game at PAX (or at least very few people did), I would go into the game and select recruit from the menu. This let me host up to five other players on my single card.

Often the games ended up with three or four other players, but occasionally we would max out and it was a lot of fun.

While lag was almost non-existent, the initial loading time was absolutely horrific. The other issue was that if anyone left the match it would close down the entire game, which totally sucked. Also, they really should have made the on-going games joinable between matches.

So yeah, besides all of that stuff Starfox is a blast.

It might not be quite a Mario Kart DS, but it's far more pick-up-and-playable than Metroid Prime Hunters

How many of you plan on getting Starfox Command? Any of you play a game with me at the PAX Lounge? Brian Crecente

Star Fox Command (DS)
Nintendo gives Fox McCloud and company another go round, this time with a return to 3D space combat.

Enchanted Arms (Xbox 360)
From Software hits us with some sci-fi RPG goodness.

Saints Row (Xbox 360)
Surely THQ is tired of hearing their free-roaming gangster game called a GTA clone, so I'll refrain.

Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins (PSP)
Capcom's old-school 2D platformer (with 3D graphics) isn't for noobs.

Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories (PS2)
A few more dozen hours of big-headed strategy RPG fun from Nippon Ichi.

Def Jam: Fight for NY: The Takeover (PSP)
EA's hip hop fighting franchise makes its bow on PSP.

I'm holding my wallet hostage until next week, when both Okami and Yakuza hit for the PS2. What are y'all pickin' up this week?

I've had Star Fox Command now for about five days. For some reason I had totally forgotten about it until it showed up in my mailbox along with Star Fox branded mini-bags of peanuts and a barf bag.

I've been slowly playing through the single player mission and had a chance to have my ass handed to me by a mystery player who I suspect was a developer.

It's a pretty damn fun game, though I'm still undecided on whether the multiplayer dog fighting is going to be addictive like Mario Kart or more a flash in the pan.

The basic story line centers around a group of toxic-gas breathing aliens plotting to take over Fox McCloud's little corner of the universe. Team Star Fox, who have broken up, must band back together to help the Cornerian military save the Lylat system. Yeah, I don't really care about the plot either.

The one thing you do want to know is that the story line branches, allowing you to make decisions at key moments in the plot. Oddly, it looks like you have to play through the game to unlock the alternative options in the game. But, I suppose that makes the single-player mode worthy of at least one replay.

Single player game play is an interesting hybrid of real-time tactics, turn-based strategy and dog-fights.

The game is broken up into a series of planets. When you arrive on a planet you are presented with a map that shows your mothership, the Arwings of whatever pilots you happen to have and the enemy partially shrouded in a fog of war.

This particular fog of war is pretty neat. At the beginning of each level your give the power to swipe your stylus around in the fog to dissipate some of it. This is important because you have to track down enemy ships, protect your mothership and take down enemy bases in a set time limit.

After clearing some of the fog, you get to move trace routes for your available Arwings. Then the game takes over at automatically moves your units and enemy units.

If you run into any bad guys you go into dog fight mode.

During a dogfight you control your Arwing sort of like how you aim and look in Metroid Prime Hunters. You use your stylus on the bottom screen, which is also a giant radar, to control the Arwings speed and movement.

To fire you press any of the DS' buttons. Holding in the fire button can give you a lock which you use to fire a more powerful shot. You also can pick up fuel, bombs and better weapons during a fight.

Sliding the stylus around your screen, it feels like you have some pretty precise control. I still haven't quite mastered it yet though. Especially performing the handful of special moves.

By double tapping at the top of your screen you can boost for a limited time and by tapping at the bottom of the screen you can brake for a short period.

Drawing a circle causes your Arwing to go into fast barrel rolls, which also defect shots. There are also buttons on the sides of the screen that allow you to perform a u-turn, a 360 or drop a bomb anywhere on the screen, if you have them.

Overall I found the controls fairly intuitive, though I think there's a level of sophistication built in that requires some effort for mastery.

Once you defeat your enemies in a dog fight you jump back into the turn-based game until you run out of turns or destroy the enemy base.

The whole single player game appears to be built around this. I've only made it through two worlds, but I've already seen quite a bit of difference in enemy types and the bosses I've fought are interesting.

The multiplayer mode is fairly robust and likely will become the biggest draw for the game. Local wireless play supports up to six players. While WiFi play supports up to four players.

In WiFi battles you can choose to enter a Battle Royale where you're going up against three others and the results effect your ranking, or do a free fight where you choose the number of opponents and it doesn't effect your rank.

The play online seemed hitch free and the few times I managed to find someone there was no lag. Unfortunately, Nintendo continues to use their faulty Friend Code system, which I continue to loathe.

Star Fox Command is certain to be a hit, though I haven't played it nearly enough yet to figure out if I'm going to get sick of it or if it will become a mainstay in my DS Lite. Brian Crecente

God, we hate shaky cams. Staple the camera to your face if you have to, just please, stop trying to play a DS Lite with one hand while you hold a camcorder on your shoulder with the other.

Still, as much as shaky cam footage sucks and makes us puke in Crecente's mouth a little when we're watching it over his shoulder while simultaneously competing for the internal "Best Kotaku Kisser" award, Starfox Command for the DS really is looking really nice. All without a SuperFX chip, too! Florian Eckhardt