If you're a fan of the Warhammer 40K table top game or the Dawn of War RTS series then this is the game for you.

User Rating: 10 | Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command PSP
I had no real expectations for this game. I mean, I've played the table top game for years & played the Dawn Of War games. There have been quite a few disappointing 40K titles in the past so I came into this one with mixed feelings. I figured "it's only $30 bucks... what the hay?" The gameplay reminds me of both the table top version & Dawn of War (minus Real Time speed). I'm also a fan of turn-based strategy games i.e. Civ series, Advance Wars titles, Age of Empiresm, Front Mission... etc. so this was right up my alley. Now to the review.

Story: I didn't really care about how compelling the story was because I just wanted to blow stuff up. Much like when I played Mercenaries for the PS2.

Gameplay: FUN! FUN! FUN! blowing up the Word Bearer Heretics was a real blast (no pun intended) not to mention being able to snipe the crap out of those bastards. They've even added an old 2nd Edition 40K skill into this game... Over-watch. Of course, this is based on the remaining action points your players have at the end of your turn. It even feels a bit like X-Com: UFO Defense. Putting a missile launcher rocket in the chest of a chaos space marine is sick. Destructible terrain & buildings adds another layer of realism in this uber fantasy game. As you get further in the game you unlock weapons & such. This gives you the opportunity to customize your squad much like the table top version. I'm only on the fourth mission so I'm not sure how far the customization goes or if they've implemented "war gear" but once I do I'll update this post.

Graphics: Great!!! Compared to all the other titles available for the PSP this one has to be top tier. The player models are spot on when it comes to their table top counter-parts. It's reminescent of Dawn of War... I mean, it looks like someone took Dawn of War & shoved it into a UMD. It is maybe a hair lower in graphics than Jeanne D' Arc but it's a very fine hair. You could say your splitting hairs when it comes to graphical output.

Sound: I have mixed feelings about this category... I can't hear for sh#% anyways so I don't necessarily care about how a game sounds. Yet, from what I heard I got a kick out of hearing "Down with the heretic!" (or something like that) or hearing the cries of utter disappointment from your enemy as you blow them to smithereens. As you may be able to tell... I like blowing things up. Let's not forget the chainsword. Running up to your foe & ginsu knifing them down is fun too.

Camera: Questionable. If there was a way to rotate the camera instead of it being fixed (from what I could tell) would make this game sick. You can move the camera up, down, left & right but you can't rotate it. Well, can't win them all.

Controls: Simple. Circle button to cycle between movement & shooting. Square button to cycle between primary & secondary weapon. Triangle button to cancel an action. X button is your execute button & the shoulder buttons cycle through the players. You can even have multiple players do actions at the same time.

Re-Playability: High! It's always fun to see if you can complete a mission using different routes, weapons, or tactics.

Overall: If you own a PSP you should own this game. It'll probably fly under the radar so if you're interested in buying it just remember... it's only $30 bucks.