Software:Incubation: Time Is Running Out

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Short description: 1997 turn-based tactics video game
Incubation: Time Is Running Out
Developer(s)Blue Byte
Publisher(s)Blue Byte
SeriesBattle Isle
EngineExtreme Assault
Platform(s)Windows
ReleaseOctober 17, 1997[1]
Genre(s)Turn-based tactics
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Incubation: Time Is Running Out, known in Europe as Incubation: Battle Isle Phase Four (German: Incubation: Battle Isle Phase Vier) is a turn-based tactics computer game from Blue Byte released in 1997. It is the fourth game in the Battle Isle series. In the game, the player controls a squad of soldiers in a campaign against an alien threat. An expansion pack, The Wilderness Missions, was released in 1998.

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 installments. The plot is told outside of combat, through cutscenes and the main character's voiced weary, pessimistic monologues during mission briefings.

Cpl. 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.

Bratt and his squad take part in a holding action to buy time for the city to be isolated again, and rescue a noted virologist. Gen. Urelis, the planetside commander, promotes Bratt to sergeant and sets to defending the city while the virologist cures the virus. Sadly, as Rutherford briefs her troops, this is the exact opposite of what the virologist actually tried to tell Urelis. The virus (herpes simplex) is common and endemic to humans, and has no cure. Urelis shows a flair for dramatic and counterproductive maneuvers, unveils a counterattack strategy entirely too late, authorizes lethal force against fleeing civilians to maintain order, and to Bratt's grim satisfaction, is overrun and killed. As the city falls, the marines give up even the pretense of obeying Urelis and escort civilian evacuees to an airlift to safety, but Bratt and his squad are caught in a rearguard action, cut off, and stranded. Rutherford parachutes down to assist, and together they fight their way to a pick-up point. As the marines return to the station, an exhausted Bratt 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.

Expansion pack

The game's expansion pack, The Wilderness Missions, was released on April 24, 1998. A direct sequel revolving around Sergeant Bratt's attempts to escape the planet before he and his marines are overrun, it adds a long, challenging single-player campaign, with missions that are far more difficult and open-ended than those in the base game. It also includes new weapons and enemies, extra multiplayer features, and a map editor.[2]

Reception

In the United States, the game sold only 4,805 copies during 1997.[3] Critical reception of Incubation was mostly positive. PC Gamer awarded it the title of the Best Turn-Based Strategy Game of 1997.[3] 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".[4] Niko Nirvi of Pelit, who initially considered Incubation a botched squad-based strategy game, came to think of it as a sort of puzzle game and was very taken with it.[5] 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."[6]

The Wilderness Missions was also generally well-received by critics. Kasavin rated it 8/10 points, stating that it "brings back all the strong features of the original and fixes many of its shortcomings", and that it would please fans of the original who did not think it reached its full potential. He praised the more difficult missions and high-color 3D graphics.[2] The French Backstab (magazine) (fr) also rated the game 8/10.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Staff (October 17, 1997). "Now Shipping...". http://www.pcgamer.com/news/news-1997-10-13.html. 
    "We've also received boxed copies of Blue Byte's Incubation...so those should be available shortly if they're not already out".
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kasavin, Greg (2009-07-04). "Incubation: The Wilderness Missions Review for PC". https://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/incubationthewm/review.html/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "How Did the PCG Award Winners Fare?". PC Gamer US 5 (4): 45. April 1998. 
  4. ↑ Kasavin, Greg (November 5, 1997). "Incubation". https://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/incubation/review.html. 
  5. ↑ Nirvi, Niko (August 1, 1998). "Incubation: Wilderness Missions – Back To The Jungle". Pelit (Vantaa, Finland). https://www.pelit.fi/artikkelit/incubation-wilderness-missions-2/. Retrieved December 20, 2022. "[...]ajattelin ensimmäisen kentän jälkeen, jotta onpa Blue Byte munannut X-Com-varianttinsa. Hahmot liikkuvat vain vähän, eivät osaa kantaa kuin yhtä asetta, johon siihenkään ei saa ammuksia, kentät ovat pieniä ja yksi mies tukkii käytävän, eikä ammuskelu vaikuta mitenkään ympäristöön. Pari kenttää lisää ja koin Valaistuksen: hemmetti, tämähän on puzzlepeli! Ja niin hyvä, etten muihin peleihin koskenut ennen kuin Incubation oli läpi.". 
  6. ↑ The Bando Commando (February 1998). "PC GamePro Review: Incubation". GamePro (IDG) (113): 71. 
  7. ↑ "Incubation: Wilderness Missions". Backstab Magazine (12): 50. https://archive.org/details/backstab-magazine-french-12/page/n49/mode/2up. 

Further reading

  • Elliott, Mike (February 1998). "You want blood with that?". The Duelist (Wizards of the Coast) (22): 81. 

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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