Incoming

Reviewing older games is tough. I can’t get into the mindset of 1998 me which would have been impressed by the graphics. So instead I have to go with what I thought of it today. Without harping on the fact it doesn’t look that great anymore. Incoming is a vehicle based action game with some minor real time strategy sections depending on which mode is chosen. The main crux of the story is that aliens are going to take over earth and only a small strike force of pilots has any chance at stopping them. Other than some forgettable text during the intro this plot is just here to give the player a reason to blow up a bunch of aliens.

Although this was released on PC first it really feels like a console game. I mainly played campaign action mode for this review. Each of the 10 levels puts the player into 10 different scenarios where you must use a different vehicle to stop the alien threat. Almost every vehicle has generous auto aim that locks onto any enemy that enters your field of view. The ease of combat isn’t where the challenge comes in instead dodging fire and protecting many different locations is where things get tough. The aliens are real good at blowing up the target you're trying to protect and this game doesn’t have any continues so I ended up save scumming my way through it.

By the end you’ll have played as 4 different types of vehicles. Planes/spacecraft zoom around the battlefield and have the least amount of armor making it real easy to die. Turrets are stationary but they have the added benefit of infinite rockets which are one of the 7 different types of sub weapons. Tanks are slow but have a bunch of armor. Finally the helicopter is the tank of the sky with some quick up/down movement.. Each of these go at a fast pace and this game in general has a real arcade like feel. By the end you’ll have played with each of these in 75 mini missions. The first 7 scenarios have 10 different 5-10 minute sections that must be completed to succeed. So by the end this is about a 6 hour action fest.

Shooting down aliens is fun and this game does make it easy to blow everything up. At the same time most of this game is about defending buildings. Constantly having to defend something can be annoying especially during the few sections that expected me to blow something up quickly or I would lose. Even with the different types of vehicles this game does have a lack of variety in how you play. Point generally in the direction of a enemy and shoot. I did check out simulation mode which mainly plays like the mode I’ve been describing but a few times it switches into a RTS view. If it was a bit more complex it might have added some value instead it is just a real basic strategy game where you don’t even have the ability to build more units.

Overall this does what the developers wanted it to invoke. Fast paced action with a bunch of different vehicles for the player to control. The lack of any real story doesn’t hinder the game any. Getting bored of playing it is possible though. The aliens don’t really have much of a AI and how they spawn makes it feel like you're shooting fish in a barrel instead of a credible threat to humanity. Yet it does have some payoff worth seeing if you end up making it to the end of the game. So is it worth playing? I’m leaning toward a smidgen toward yes. It isn’t a super long game and I do think the combat holds up well today. Worth checking out if you're in the mood for a simple action game.