R-Type Command is not the same side-scrolling 2D shooter like you would expect an R-type game to be. Instead, it is a turn-based tactical strategy game that puts the player in command of an ever-growing fleet of spacecraft fighting against the usual waves of alien enemies.

To begin with, the game can be a little daunting and confusing at first and it may take a small amount of time to generalise yourself with the game’s format and functionality but it quickly unfolds and lets the player grasp the simplicity of it. Even without impressive graphics, a compelling story, or great unit balance, it manages to entertain the player and can draw them into hours of gameplay. It does this by giving you huge fleets to play with, lots of different kinds of ships and weaponry to use, and interesting bosses to battle with.

The Bydo are the alien race that you battle with in outer space. The missions take place in large areas which are divided into hexagonal grids. The player is allowed to place his units in the blue grid area. The player will also have to choose a flagship; if this is destroyed, you lose the battle. Once your ships are placed, each one can execute a movement and an action. It may seem simple at first but when you have a large fleet of ships it can take a while to move them all. They could have maybe added a “move all” feature that allows all units to move at once.

Sadly R-Type Tactics is not the most entertaining of strategy games and there are several flaws in it that cause this problem. Immediately when you first play the game you will notice that the graphics are not the best that we have seen on the PSP platform. The game doesn’t have a very interesting story and throughout it you will be doing the same old thing, simply sending in a few spacecraft to fight and then moving them around a bit. This gets very repetitive. There is also a limit to the number of rounds or turns in each battle and this can be particularly frustrating when fighting a boss and you are so close to beating him and then the limit expires and you have to start over again. The player will also notice that the loading times are intensely long for a game that repeatedly does the same thing. The player may also get annoyed by the fact that there are very rarely any reinforcements available in a battle and he has a limited number of ships to choose at the beginning of a battle. This may cause the player to repeat the mission a few times in order to be successful which can be quite tedious.

However, looking on the bright side the game does have a few tricks up its sleeve. In-combat cut scenes heat up the atmosphere of the battle and give more depth to the action. Unfortunately they have a very long loading time that can last up to 10 seconds. There are also lots of levels with plenty of bosses to pulverise so the player can have some enjoyment in that respect. The player does not have to complete the story but can simply play skirmishes which are just as equally entertaining.

R-Type Tactics may not be the most space aged game around but it can certainly be an occupying source of entertainment in one’s spare time.

We give it 6.9/10