I've never been into tabletop gaming outside of a few D&D; knock-offs back in my early High School days, and most recently with the Heroclix series of comic stuff. So I'll admit early on that my Warhammer knowledge is pretty limited. I've been familiar with the franchise only thru the videogame side of things, most notably from the Dawn of War title on PC.

That said, I understand the basic mechanics behind the game in its non-video form, and while Squad Command definitely scales down the overall scope of what's available when you're playing this with a few buddies at the local game shop, it manages to deliver a pretty satisfying experience for newcomers and experienced vets on the PSP without the cost and effort involved into actually putting a game together.

The overall plot of Squad Command is pretty basic, and even with no outside knowledge of the Warhammer universe you'll pick up on the story pretty quickly. Space Marines vs. Mutants is what it boils down to, with you in control of the Marines during the single player campaign, and in multiplayer you'll be able to use either side.

Even if the story is pretty bland, the actual gameplay is entertaining, and thankfully contained to short bursts that a handheld game should have. Most of the campaign missions don't last longer than 20 minutes or so, perfect for a commute to work or a lunch break. The main game won't last you too long, clocking in at about 8 hours, and the challenge is pretty moderate.

You'll be given control of various units that are pretty standard to most RTS experiences, except Squad Command is heavily focused on the actual battle side of things. There's no need to worry about resources or unit building here. Each unit you enter battle with is all you'll get for that particular fight, which causes you to be pretty conservative early on as you get the feel for how things work. If you sacrifice a unit, you better be damned sure it was for a good reason, because once you lose two or three in a single fight you'll most likely be fighting an upward battle. It doesn't help that the enemy AI is a bit inconsistent too. Once they spot you they don't have a lot of trouble keeping track of where you are on the map, regardless of their line of sight or how far back you manage to flee. Unfortunately, the same doesn't hold true for your field of vision, and it can be pretty easy to lose track of enemy units.

The battlefield experience is definitely hindered by the camera, which is mapped to the analog stick. Instead of letting you pan around the 3D world, you'll barely be able to move or adjust your view. This is particularly maddening when you're trying to make use of cover, because you won't be able to figure out if an enemy can spot you due to a hole or window in the wall you're trying to hide behind until it's too late. Also, the controls are definitely limited due to the PSP itself, but why they decided to map the cursor controls to the D-Pad instead of the Analog stick is a bit beyond me.

That said, the use of cover in the game, and overall layout of the stages is pretty well done and definitely adds a bit of strategy to the mix. The environment is completely destructible, so you'll not be able to take cover against a wall or building for long since your enemy can opt to flush you out by destroying your cover instead of taking the time to flank you. This keeps the momentum of the game up as well, and you won't find yourself stuck in a long battle of duck and cover, slowly pecking away at a unit's health.

Graphically the game looks very nice on the small screen, with some excellent cut scene work scattered about. The biggest drawback is definitely with the battlefields, which are laid out well enough but still pretty bland in their overall look. A lot of them seem to be incredibly similar in style and it would have been nice to see things switched up a bit more. Likewise the music is pretty uninspired stuff, and while it doesn't grate your nerves to the point of needing to shut it off, it also won't stick with you in a good way either.

The multiplayer mode is pretty standard, but thankfully is offered in not only ad-hoc mode but also infrastructure. I had no trouble getting into a match, and everything seemed to be completely stable. Multiplayer is definitely where the title will find a bit of longevity for most players.

Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command is a fun, but basic, RTS for the PSP, and makes a decent transition for the franchise from the larger scale RTS titles available on the PC. Outside of some basic control limitations and some bland level art, it ends up being a solid and enjoyable experience that PSP owners should take a second a check out.