Incoming: The Final Conflict

The Good
The first product of Rage software, this game existed largely to make people buy then-novel 3D cards. It's attractive eye-candy, a kind of modern 'Defender' clone with lots of smoke and attractive graphics...

The Bad
...and that's it. As a technology demo it's excellent, but as a game it's like a blank slate. Whilst there is some variety in the gameplay (you leap from static turrets to roving helicopters and beyond), there is absolutely no depth whatsoever - it's just a target-shooting game. It very quickly becomes extremely tedious, and it's amazing that there was a mission pack.

The Bottom Line
Thrilling eye-candy, no game at all.

The Good
Decent graphics, even though there's no textures. it's all polygons, fast actions, variety of vehicles to drive (helicopter, tank, turret, alien fighter), full 3D environment (when you get to move), occasional interesting challenges (like the "fire-fighting" scenario)

The Bad
Too mindless, no strategy required at all, just shoot at everything except your people, enemies always approach in same patterns (just memorize), turret shooting resembles both space invaders (in 3D) and missile command (save your buildings).

The Bottom Line
The completely mindless shooter with the "shoot the invading aliens" motif... The items have good number of polygons, but no texture so they look funny. For non-action people, some of the scenarios are virtually impossible. Overall, this mindless shooter is simply too repetitive to be a PC title.

The Good
Whiz-bang action at it's best. Coded specifically so you could show off your brand new 3D accelerator card, this baby placed you in the stereotypical role of the saviour of all mankind as an evil alien race decides to invade earth. To do so you get to man a collection of vehicles that includes helicopters, tanks, jumpjets, spaceships and static turrets.

The levels themselves take you through several locations in earth as you try to repel the alien invasion, and eventually will take you to the moon and the alien planet. Each level usually consists of just blowing every baddie up and/or protecting some allied installation, and they usually alternate between turret sequences where you have to shoot the initial waves of bad guys down and then fully (or almost anyway) explorable areas. As I mentioned above the plot behind all this mayhem is pretty much non-existant with everything falling under the "big bad alien invasion", and the game even makes up an alien virus thing in the end just as an excuse to let you blow up everything you were supposed to be protecting earlier! But anyway, plot or no plot the action in Incoming is fast and furious and quite entertaining too!

The enemies are the standard arcade drones that have no brain at all and just came at you in waves, and there's absolutely no problem at all in that since it fits the game perfectly with dozens of starfighters zipping around in a 3D version of Gradius. As I mentioned above the graphics are fully 3D and glossy as hell. All sort of lightning effects play out with each laser fire, and every model is polygonally rendered and ready to blow up in full particle heaven. Sure, the arcade physics makes it all look like it's made out of cardboard, but I don't think anyone could care less about that really.

The game also comes with a collection of amusing game modes like a pseudo rts "strategy" mode that lets you issue some commands early on for each level and set the stage for when you go to your 3D person (or 1st person) polygonal kill-frenzy. Also available is an arcade mode with power-ups and all as well as fully functional multiplayer modes including split screen action on the same pc. Gotta love that!!

The Bad
Absolutely no brain at all. Well, actually this is not a bad point at all, since it's coherent with the gameplay nature behind Incoming. The game wants to be a dumb shooter and that's exactly what it is, I can't find any fault with that and actually admire these honest developments more than the overambitious designs that promise a lot but end up giving barely the same experience you get here on Incoming. Just thought I'd let you know though, in case you wanted any brains with your explosions.

The Bottom Line
Super space invaders in full 3D! complete with no brain and more explosions you could shake a stick at! As far as 3D action games go, Incoming delivers the goods with lots of eye candy and arcade action. Just don't ask it to be a dramatic experience of epic proportions and you'll be ok.