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The R-Type franchise has had a long, and mostly successful, history. After bursting onto the gaming scene in the early gestation of the industry in 1987, its fast and furious type of arcade shooting action has mesmerised millions of gamers.

For some reason, though, developers Irem have decided that the series needs a re-think — so R-Type Command is now a turn-based strategy game. While there’s undoubtedly some successful examples of turn-based strategy — think of Civilisation, for instance, or its quasi-sequel Alpha Centauri — this, unfortunately, isn’t one of them.

Unlike those lofty, involving PC titles, R-Type Command has been released for the PSP and, when compared to other titles on the console, such as the raft of frenzied arcade racers and colourful puzzle games, Tactics comes across as drier than a burnt cracker in Death Valley.

Gameplay is traditional turn-based strategy: maps made of hexes, plenty of varied units and dozens of long, ponderous missions to plot your way through. When a franchise has made it’s name from churning out challenging and fast-paced shooter games, it’s something of a come down to try playing this, although it’ll certainly appeal to fans of a genre that’s been under-represented thus far on PSP.

The story revolves around you playing as the Earth Space Corps against the Bydo, R-Type’s perennial enemy, as they try to invade our wonderful planet. There’s enough gameplay here — if you enjoy it — to keep you going for many tedious train journeys. The downside of this is that you have to do everything individually — moving, attacking, absolutely everything — and so playing the game, perhaps, takes longer than it needs to.

Graphically, it’s a mix of two styles and works well. The units are 2D graphics that hark back to the original R-Type and provide a hefty dose of retro charm, but the environments you play in — and the combat sequences — are rendered in full 3D, which provides a bit of modern sparkle.

Still, there are a few hidden depths hidden away in the slow gameplay. Varied units mean that plenty of interesting tactical battles can develop — it’s like a space-age game of chess — and the complex relationships between various types of ship add another layer of tactical subtlety.

It may be a total cliché, but it’s appropriate for R-Type Command: if you enjoy turn-based strategy then you’ll enjoy this game. It’s got everything that’s made the genre so popular — thought-provoking gameplay, plenty of tactical action and plenty of depth — but people familiar with the original R-Type games may be discouraged. Try at your own risk.