software.wikisort.org - Video_game

Incubation: Time Is Running Out (also known as Incubation: Battle Isle Phase Four) is a turn-based tactics computer game from Blue Byte released in 1997. In the game, the player controls a squad of soldiers in a campaign against an alien threat.

This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2014)

Incubation: Time Is Running Out
Developer(s)	Blue Byte
Publisher(s)	Blue Byte
Series	Battle Isle
Engine	Extreme Assault
Platform(s)	Windows
Release	October 17, 1997[1]
Genre(s)	Turn-based tactics
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

The single-player campaign includes around 30 missions set in futuristic interiors full of aliens, as a squad of space marines battles to save the civilians and themselves. The game has some head-to-head and co-op multiplayer support via LAN and software such as Kali. There are three difficulty levels which influence parameters like monster respawn and damage rates.

Outside of missions, the main decision is which weapons and equipment to purchase to outfit the squad. A variety of weapons are available. Some low-level guns feature bayonets for mêlée combat, which form a substantial element of the game. Equipment like jetpacks, scanners, improved armor, stimulants and medical kits becomes available as the space marines accumulate experience points.

Plot

Incubation is part of the Battle Isle series, though it is only loosely related to the other games in the series. The plot is told outside of combat, through cutscenes, and the main character's voiced weary, pessimistic monologues during mission briefings.

Cpl. (later Sgt.) Braddock is a space marine going stir crazy on a space station under Capt. Rachel Rutherford. He's at risk of hearing a fellow corporal's war story for the sixth time when the call comes to deploy to the planet below. Equipment failure has exposed the colonial city of Scay-Hallwa to the planet's environment and introduced a virus among the indigenous inhabitants, Scay'Ger, who are now turning into bloodthirsty monsters.

Braddock and his squad take part in a holding action to buy time for the city to be isolated again, and rescue a noted virologist. At this point issues with Gen. Urelis, the planetside commander, come to a boil as he sets to defending the city while the virologist cures the virus. Sadly, as Rutherford briefs her troops, what the virologist actually tried to tell Urelis was just the opposite. The virus (herpes simplex) is common and endemic to humans, and has no cure. Urelis unveils a counterattack strategy entirely too late, authorizes lethal force to stop civilians from fleeing, and is overrun and killed. The marines defy their orders and escort civilian evacuees to an airlift to safety, but Braddock and his squad are caught in a rearguard action, cut off, and stranded. Rutherford parachutes down to assist them, and together they fight through the overrun city to a pick-up point. As the marines return to the station, an exhausted Braddock asks his chatty colleague for a story, rejects hearing any of the new ones, and tells him to take his time.

Release

Incubation was released on October 17, 1997 as one of the first strategy titles to use fully 3D graphics, and supported hardware acceleration on the 3dfx Voodoo. Blue Byte later published an expansion pack, The Wilderness Missions, which added new missions with more resourceful enemies, as well as a map editor.

Reception

In the United States, the game sold only 4,805 copies during 1997.[2] Critical reception of Incubation was mostly positive. PC Gamer awarded it the title of the Best Turn-Based Strategy Game of 1997.[2] Others felt the game made some steps in the right direction but lacked the depth and challenge needed for a great strategy game. Writing for GameSpot, Greg Kasavin noted that "most weapons at your disposal carry limited ammunition and can overheat rather quickly, forcing you to fire only when you must".[3] Niko Nirvi of Pelit, who initially considered the game a botched X-COM variant, came to think of it as a sort of puzzle game and was very taken with it.^{[citation needed]} GamePro praised the originality, storyline, interface, and many cerebral challenges. They concluded, "Best of all, the game is both challenging and fun, proving that real-time strategy isn't always best. Incubation definitely ranks as a winner."[4]

References

External links

• Incubation at Blue Byte Game Channel
• Incubation: Time Is Running Out at MobyGames
• Incubation: Time is Running Out at GameSpot
• Incubation Data Archives, a comprehensive fansite
• Incubation Archives, another fan site
• Incubation Strategy Guides, walkthroughs and detailed information

На других языках

---

[de] Incubation: Battle Isle Phase Vier

Incubation: Battle Isle Phase Vier ist ein 1997 erschienenes rundenbasiertes Strategie-Computerspiel, welches von Blue Byte entwickelt wurde. Das Spiel erschien außerhalb des deutschsprachigen Raumes auch unter dem Namen Incubation: Time is Running Out. Das Spiel ist aufgrund der Hintergrundgeschichte Teil der Battle-Isle-Reihe.

---

- [en] Incubation: Time Is Running Out

---

[ru] Incubation: Time Is Running Out

Incubation: Time Is Running Out — компьютерная пошаговая стратегия 1997 года. Годом позже было выпущено продолжение — Incubation: The Wilderness Missions. В России была выпущена компанией 1С в 2005 году под названием Incubation: Космодесант.

---

---