The added TBS segments and great gameplay makes this Star Fox one of the best in the series.
Gameplay- The added TBS segments put a great twist into this game. I love TBS and thought they did this quite well. Controlling your Arwing with the stylus takes a long time to get used to, but when you do you'll love it. I still don't think they should force you to use it though. Almost everything in the whole game uses the stylus and that was a great move by nintendo. Very innovative, and took advantage of the touch screen like very few games have thus far. Most of it is flight combat; the TBS doesn't last that long, which is great. I wish i could see the Aquamarine and Landmaster in this game (and maybe even a foot-mission done right), but you only use the Arwing, which isn't necessarily bad. It's very easy to get a few of those endings, but after the first couple, it gets pretty hard. Also, this game doesn't pack near as much action onto the screen at once as Star Fox 64 did. It's you against all the enemies at once instead of you and the crew (plus armies at times). But I do like the fact that ALL of the fights are on a circular battlefield instead of a straight-forward one (excluding the missile chases), which Star Fox 64 was mostly fly straight ahead and never turn around.
Graphics- Great for the DS. Even the touch screen has some 3D parts to it. The touch screen does a great job with the map during the TBS segments, and the top screen looks pretty solid when in flight combat. This isn't quite up to Star Fox 64 (in graphics), but it's somewhat comparable. It gets the job done, and that's what matters to me anyway.
Sound and Music- Well, the voice animations are horrific. I know the DS isn't quite as powerful as the 64, but you'd think the characters would actually be able to talk instead of making wacko robot noises that makes them all sound like R2D2 off of Star Wars. I mean, C'MON, Star Fox 64 did the voice animations very well. The other sound effects are fine. The music isn't really that good, but I kept the volume off after gagging when hearing the voice animations anyway, so problem solved *starts listening to I-Pod*.
Story- It has a great Star Wars atmosphere which I've always enjoyed (though I'm not a huge Star Wars fan). It gets kinda dramatic at times (depending on which of the 9 endings you go for) and will keep you tensed and alert and wanting more. Some great twists in the plot like always (don't you love nintendo and their great in-game stories?) and some memorable moments. I've always like the Star Fox stories and this one is fine too.
Multiplayer- This game, unlike Metroid Prime Hunters, has a better single player than online, which isn't a bad thing. The online is still pretty good, however, and probably as good as Metroid. You can play up to 3 others online and I've always thought these kind of shooters were better than FPS online. Pretty fun and hard at the same time, but I've had plenty of good matches. More disconnecters though, which really sucks. in the local Wi-Fi, you can play up to 5 other friends and it gets pretty intense. Better than the online if you can get 5 friends who want to throw down for a while.
Replay Value- With 9 different endings and a great multiplayer, this game will keep you going for a very long time (at least as long as Metroid). I haven't had it very long, but haven't been able to put it down for long. I'll probably be popping the online a year from now.
Overall- Like I said, this game deserved better than a 7.5 and I think it's one of the best Star Fox's to date. A great single player and online makes this one of the best DS games right now and an absolute must-have. Only a few problems kept this game from being the best of the best.