THQ's Warhammer Squad Command marching onto DS

While our colleagues on the PSP side of Pocket Gamer's operations have already been blessed with screens of THQ's portable version of its Warhammer 40,000 license, it has taken E3 to get us the first DS examples of what's been described as a fast, action-packed combat game wrapped within the chipped battle armour of a turn-based strategy mechanic.

It seems to have been worth the wait however, with Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command looking like offering plenty of detailed options for the armchair general to ponder.

Down the lefthandside of the touchscreen, you can see the six individual Ultra Space Marines who make up your squad. (One's already dead in this example.)

As for the grunt you're in control of, his weapon loadout – one rifle with infinite ammo and another, more specialised gun (shotgun in this case) – is displayed on the bottom, alongside what appears to be different stance and aiming options on the bottom right.

The red arrows show any ordered character movement, while the green arc shows the character's line of sight.

Up above, on the top screen, you get a tactical map, with fog of war limiting how much you can see. The position of friendlies are shown in green, while enemies are in red. There's also a destination crosshead, showing where you need to go.

Battles in the game take place using a turn-based system, with soldiers firing at each and trading health points as in a role-playing game – you can see some red numbers on the righthandside of the screen – until it's time to make the next move.

Thirteen single player missions will be available, as well as nine multiplayer maps, which will be created in small, medium and large variants. The game will also support the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for global online gaming for between 2-8 players.

Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command is due to be released during the autumn.