Incoming

About Incoming

Incoming (1998) is Rage Software's showcase 3D shooter in which the player takes the controls of aircraft, ground vehicles and gun turrets to repel an alien invasion of Earth in 2009.

Incoming in Depth

In the near future of 2009, aliens invade Earth, and the player controls a range of vehicles and turrets to fight them. Mainly a vehicle simulation in an arcade style, with high scores and lives, it puts the player in aircraft, defence emplacements or surface craft, each with a primary weapon with unlimited ammunition and sometimes secondary weapons. Campaign missions to neutralise the alien threat include transporting cargo and defending allied convoys.

There are two campaigns: "campaign action", made up purely of simulation missions, and "campaign tactics", which adds sub-missions on a "tactical display" where the player commands several vehicles and gun emplacements much like a real-time strategy game. Each consists of ten "phases" in each of six locations, which can also be played in an arcade mode of fighting off aliens and collecting power-ups, and multiplayer uses the same mechanics with variations by game type. The PC version was praised for its then-advanced graphics, explosions, effects and cut-scenes made with the game engine, and its Dolby Surround sound; PC Zone called it "bloody good".

Making Incoming

Rage Software, known for cutting-edge graphics and effects, developed and published it for Windows in mid-1998. The PC version was generally well received, while the Dreamcast version, released in North America on 15 September 1999 and Europe on 14 October 1999, met a less positive response.