Customer Reviews

R-Type Command

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I like this game, in fact after playing it for a month I'm declaring it my favorite PSP game, and I have all the must plays. I'd give it 5 stars but I can't edit that.

It's a lot different than the older R-Types which I've all played. First, you can save whenever you want. Second, you can customize your attack plan using specific equipment suitable for each mission. Third, the copy I ordered from Amazon 2 weeks ago came with a mini-R-Type fighter plastic model, which rules.

So this game is a hex based strategy game. If you liked Battletech, Car Wars, or Avalon Hill's WWII games back in the day you'll get off on this game. The action is still there but I'd say its more like baseball action than hockey, meaning slower like a chess game but still suspenseful. One thing I put an end to early is the cutscenes, which I turned off immediately to make the game faster.

Developers of portable games still haven't figured out that when you sit down to play you might only have 45 minutes during a train ride into work to play. This means at least for me that I can't play games where save points are spaced out or the game doesn't have the option to save when you want to. R-Type Command isn't that sort of game. You set up the strategy, establish your move and then sit back and see what your opponent figures out for you. If you are interrupted just save and come back later. Like chess the pieces are all waiting for you.

If you are on the fence, download the demo from the Playstation Network.

The R-Type series takes an interesting detour with this competent hex-grid strategy game. It mixes the flashy style of the classic shooters with slower-paced balancing of tactical considerations.

It is important to note that the flashy animations are entirely optional. Since the attacks are canned animations with annoying load times, you can thankfully choose how and when these are shown. That includes: full-screen, full-at-random, windowed, windowed-at-random, or off. As such, the lengthy load times of the animations should not receive as much negative emphasis as they tend to (if not on Amazon, at "professional" review sites).

Beyond that issue is the overall gameplay itself. The campaign is surprisingly lengthy and generally well-paced in terms of availability of new unit types to mix things up. Enemy variety can also be surprising, forcing a readjustment of the forces you bring to the given stage. You'll also receive titles that act as a rating of how well you handled the stage, as well as experience pts and resources to build additional ships.

Taken a few missions at a time between PSP play sessions, the game offers good long-term value and will prove most entertaining to those who like the idea of moving around R-Type units in a classic "Military Madness" gameplay style.

I read a number of reviews and hesitated at first. But when it hit discount I figured I had nothing to lose.

As the other reviewers noted, this is not the classic R-Type game. It is a strategy game along the lines of the traditional hex-based wargames. I have never really played those original R-Type games anyway so I get to treat this game with a clean slate.

Pros:
- It is very addictive

- Even if you lose a battle you don't lose all your ships. So you at least reap some rewards so that you can build a stronger fleet, learn from your mistakes, and try again.

- Surprisingly when you are close to obtaining victory (while potentially losing it all) this game really does put you on the edge of your seat.

- Missions are long and bountiful (57 missions total). A mission can take at least 20 to 30 minutes to complete. By making the missions long your level of commitment and excitement grows. Even though you seem to be able to plough through your enemies you are always wondering whether the tables could be turned at any moment because the enemy may have additional fighters hiding somewhere.

- Good story that makes you feel like you are in charge of the fleet.

- Supports adhoc mode play though I haven't tried it.

Cons:

- The in-game movies are too slow to load so usually you turn them off. This is a real pity because they could have easily used the geometric representations in the main strategy screen and given this game some kind of 3-dimensional feel.

- There is no way to undo an accidental move.

- Movement of large fleets can be labor intensive since there is no way to group ships into squadrons.

Overall I am very pleasantly surprised by this game. It is the most enjoyable PSP title I've played so far.

Fine, around three years ago I saw this and the Gradius Collection...

I never really got into R-Type all too much. I've played through the SNES R-Type III: The Third Lightning which is the basis for my R-Type experience. Nonetheless while Command is not as difficult as the other R-Type games I can't really compare them.

It's a hex grid turn based strategy game. I grew up with the SSI strategy games (and a few others too) so the game format I was somewhat used to. The game itself plays extremely well. It's not perfect (some Bydo units when used properly can easily take out human forces) although the game heavily relies on compromise (said units have only one powerful attack and can be intercepted from behind).

It plays very similar to the shump it is based on. The human side faces right, the Bydo faces left. Unit abilities only go in the direction the unit is facing. There are a variety of different ships that can be used and are unlocked as spoils are found in certain game maps and building them requires salvageable resources.

Overall the game is fun, although I think the translation of the game and AI are lacking. The one example is the Compiler comes out to be the Kombiler. There are also a few odd sentences here and there. The storyline itself is good except for a few human missions down the middle (at least to me). The AI, to me, has a few quirks. It varies from mission to mission. Sometimes it'll use charge based weaponry without regard for friendly fire taking out its own units. Other times it has a clear shot and doesn't fire (although since I'm not seeing the AI's fog of war) allowing me to reset the enemy unit's charge. Although as I got further down the Bydo side the game got easier and easier as I began using some techniques that are difficult to counter.

Each mission will take around 20-40 minutes depending on how fast I can take out the enemy fleets. The more units they have the longer it takes. The only interesting this is that while the spotted units are the only ones supposedly known to the player it does display a percentage processed in the top left corner of their turn. It's often inaccurate at first but once they're down to about 12 units then it's calculated accordingly. Most of the missions are take out the enemy flagship with a few other missions (not many) as well.

To end it. The cinematic sequences are very good. The Bydo ending in itself is very sad and very suspenseful. Also I didn't have to replay any mission once but doing so limited me to not being able to use the human's Heimdall-class and the Bydo Kombiler.

R-Type Command is faithful to the series, even in it's big turn from shooter to command style genre. I counted about 77 ships playable throughout the whole game, and overall, you'll get lost in the depth of the story, which is rather intriguing.

A must buy for anyone with a PSP and a love of R-Type.

R-type is back. I was a little unsure of having one of my favorite games reworked into stratagy form...but they did a great job at it. the graphics are good and the layout is wonderful. takes a little time to learn about the units if you haven't been keeping up with r-type lately so my friend and I note to buyers. It's also pretty long and also lets you fight friends and for the first time command the Bydo forces as well. if you buy it soon enough you may get a R-type model of a black R-9 fighter with your order, which totally rules!

I am not much into RTS or TBS games, but this was something that I felt compelled to try.
I tried this for two reasons, 1: the save anywhere function and 2: there was a demo.
I ALSO understood that this was NOT a typical R-type shooter. I, unlike others who tanked this game because they didn't bother to view the description, actually READ the description and therefore I KNEW what this game was about.

If you like TBS (Turn Based Strategy) games and like to take your time with them, then this is worth getting.

Pros: nice graphics, laid back game play, an honest to God game save system that will save anywhere at any point, a good game to ease into strategy games if you're new to them.
Cons: tends to be a little slow at times.

All in all well worth checking out (start with the demo first).

I bought this for my video game-addicted son who is in the Air-Force along with another much more expensive game that just came out. He liked this one better. Other than that I have no idea what the game does, it did come with a model of one of the spaceships in the game, he loved that because he collect models as well.

This is one of those games that you must have! If you want a great game, here it is! Plus you can take it with you....

Don't be fooled, R-Type Command is solid!! Buy it today!!

I grew up plugging quarters into R-type video game. I probably should have done more research into THIS PSP game but once I got it I was dissapointed to say the least. The canned animations may look cool but the game play is about as sophisticated as games I have played on my first commodor 64. A hex grid turn by turn game played on a state of the art hand held console capable of 3D real time animation and interface????? REALLY? turn by turn hex game play!?!??! ARE YOU SERIOUS!? I have had better games like this on a 286CPU driven computer. I deserve this for not checking into it further. Oh well.... 20 bucks plus shipping that I will never recover.