Irem

This Trotmobile needs a serious tune-up

HIGH Customizing combat robots is always a good time.

LOW How often the player has to sit through clunky, unnecessary bother.

WTF How did the Crayola-level character art make it into the final product?

In a game like this, everything's a nail

HIGH Crazy levels and tons of charm.

LOW The game's over before you know it.

WTF Get rid of romance problems... by whacking them with a mallet!!

Developed by none other than Irem (makers of seminal shooter R-Type, personal fave Disaster Report, and others) this little guy and his hammer set out in an adorably irreverent and slightly absurd adventure.

A completely new interpretation of classic material, R-Type Command takes the revered side-scrolling space shooter away from its action roots and plants it deeply within the strategy genre. As bizarre as it may seem to rework something based on timing and reflexes into one of the slowest, most methodical styles in videogaming, my hat is off to Irem—it absolutely works.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Blood, Mild Fantasy Violence

Game Description: In R-Type Command players are cast head-first into a desperate war against the mysterious alien race known as the Bydo, humanity sends wave after wave of fighters into Bydo space-none of which are ever heard from again. Mankind’s main hope now resides with a lone commander, sent to lead a small armada on a perilous mission into the heart of the Bydo Empire. Low on fuel and forced to scavenge resources and equipment from his surroundings, the commander must use all his cunning and wits if he hopes to succeed, let alone make it home alive.

The game's seeds of greatness are crushed by awkward controls and a lot of empty wandering.

 

According to the ESRB, this game contains: Alcohol Reference, Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes