Since Expendable not much has been heard from camp 'RageUK' but that doesn't mean things aren't happening. After the acclaimed success of 'Incoming' as a multilingual shoot-em-up of the highest proportion Rage set about making a new generation of Arcade style games. First they tried 'Expendable' and with that it became clear that people needed a little more than classy graphics and linear gameplay to keep them happy. Due to OEM deals and a reasonably interesting gameplay 'Expendable' did do fairly well and gave a little extra financial muscle to help push rage into the next centaury.

All of Rages next generation games, 'Midnight GT', 'Hostile Waters' and 'Off-Road' look stunning and have added playability. The most recent to be announced of these is 'Incoming Forces' which we had a chance to see and sneakily play at ECTS99 in London this summer. It's going to take graphics and gaming to a whole new level, trust us on that.

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One of the many things that made the original so famous came from the huge and pulse pounding explosions and effects. The sequel promises to be bigger and better in every respect and is due in no small part to having the same team from the original on the job. Incoming Forces will use the next generation 3D Render engine - Blitter Generation II. The team has also included an advanced physics engine to deliver realistic craft behaviour to our screens. Put simply, whether it's sawing high above the clouds or trundling across the landscapes, it'll all feel as real as can be while maintaining a high action value.

As with the original 'Forces' brings back the level-to-level progression scheme but adds something a little more. Strategy and Resource Management elements have been added. With the player taking on the role of the Alien Defence force it seems like we could be in for an Arcade game with an interesting and deep twist. What's more confusing is that Rage has another game known as 'Hostile Waters' than in Theory does very much the same as 'Forces'. Quite how different they are cannot yet be determined until release.

So what about the story? Set 20 years after the first Incoming game, Earth has now discovered the secret of sustainable long distance space travel. Their forces are gathered and seeking to destroy all hostile races - in particular four alien planets in a small galaxy that it is now the player's job to defend. The objective of the game is simple yet hugely challenging - complete all of the missions successfully and then endure a massive final battle sequence with Earth's forces and thus save the alien world's you are there to protect. Piece of cake right? Wrong.

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