R-Type Command (PSP)

A command performance it ain't.
5/28/2008 12:00 AM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 2

For over two decades now, the R-Type series has been synonymous with a specific brand of mindless space shooter. In these games, strategy and planning aren't as important as twitch reflexes and simply shooting everything that moves. It's a formula that's given the series a moderate amount of success in its niche through a half-dozen or so sequels. So it's a bit surprising that R-Type Command throws out that formula and instead tries to build a typical turn-based strategy game on top of the R-Type universe. The result, less surprisingly, is a largely broken game that is almost entirely forgettable.

There is a story behind the action in R-Type Command, but it doesn't really go much beyond the extremely generic "aliens threaten Earth" premise that was present in the original series. The writers try to add some pathos to the proceedings by presenting events through the lens of an inexperienced pilot who's been thrust into a leadership position as humanity's last hope. The writing and translation are so bad, though, that it's impossible to feel any connection to the proceedings. These text-based diary entries occasionally provide vital strategic data for the battles ahead, but this information is shoehorned in so inelegantly that it makes one wonder why they even bothered trying to craft it into a believable story in the first place. They may as well have tried to write a backstory for a game of chess.

The analogy extends to the gameplay, which on the surface resembles nothing more than a complex game of outer-space chess with R-Type set pieces. The focus is ostensibly on positioning various ships on a hex-based grid to protect your flagship (read: king) and counter the advance of the enemy's forces. Unlike chess, though, this is a game of imperfect information, with much of the playfield obscured by an annoying fog that makes stumbling upon enemy units (or having them stumble upon you) a matter of luck more often than not. Certain scout units can give you a brief advantage in field knowledge, but sending them out into enemy territory is a good way to get them quickly picked off.

This persistent fog isn't nearly as annoying as the non-deterministic way battles are handled, though. Skirmishes between units are partially determined by the attacking weapon's "hit percentage" and the defender's "evade percentage," meaning each attack has a chance of doing less damage than expected, or even missing entirely. One attack from a bomber might knock three points off the defender's five hit points, for example, while an identical attack from the next bomber might do no damage at all. It's a bit like having to flip a coin every time you attempt to take a pawn in a game of chess, just to make sure the capture actually worked. Granted, the luck factor isn't overwhelming -- there are certain attacks that will almost always overpower certain units -- but it's still hard to plan a strategy when you can't even be sure what the outcome of each move will be beforehand.

Despite these drawbacks, the basic strategy to winning practically every battle in R-Type Command is extremely simple. It quickly becomes apparent that the key to victory is the protection and supplying of a few overly powerful units that can overwhelm practically anything the enemy sends at you. Between the long-range bombers, which can take out far-off enemies, and the floating orange energy forces, which can do immense damage at close range, there's not much that the enemy can do to counter your advance. Throw in a few support units to keep the bombers and forces supplied and repaired, and the rest of the strategy falls quickly into place.