Plunking away on a piano with one key, Incoming offers nothing new. In their quest to rid the world of the aliens (don't bother), players pilot tanks, planes, helicopters and anti-aircraft guns, shooting endlessly at whatever happens to show up on the radar scope. While the various ships offer some variety, and there's a visceral thrill associated with toasting Mr. E.T. and his hateful war machine, it's not enough to overcome the real old, real fast nature of the game.

Each game level (there are six) has 10 missions, and it's pretty much the same thing over and over again. Players use a fixed battery to blow up incoming enemy ships. Then they take control of a tank to blast away at other tanks. Next comes a helicopter mission to blow up more ships -- and, with luck, a side trip to pick up (and drop off) a box. After awakening from a coma, players will take control of a plane to do more shooting, a tank to do even more shooting, a helicopter to do more shooting and then maybe a nice coma again. Another well-received touch makes it impossible for players to save at any point except for the level's end. This means that if someone completes nine missions and doesn't have the strength of will to complete the 10th, well, he's just plumb out of luck. If he chooses to quit, he'll have to start at the level's beginning.

Controlling the various planes etc. will challenge a gamer's skills while simultaneously tiring their trigger finger. While some of the craft (notably the helicopter which has automatic gun tracking) are moderately forgiving, others are downright tough to manage. Unless the intrepid Earth defender keeps his hand squarely on the fire button, he won't be gunning down any alien ships while trying to fly the rapidly careening jet plane. Blasting away at onrushing enemy planes (a la Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars) becomes a test of patience rather than skill -- unless, of course, the aliens help the player out.

Lobotomized artificial intelligence plagues Incoming. Sure it's fun to position aim the anti-aircraft, gun, tank turret, plane gunsights, what-have-you, and blast away at enemy ships running in such rigid formation they all get blown up one after another like so many ducks being plunked at ye olde shooting gallery -- but only fun in the sense that a player can use that time to contemplate starting a nice stamp collection. Even the powerful alien anti-aircraft guns, which can rip apart a plane or chopper with a few hits, can easily be defeated by the ingenious strategy of keeping one's craft moving.

Pretty arctic and desert levels afford a player a great view, but the majesty of the backgrounds lose something when the player discovers the tundra is just white desert and the desert, the winter wasteland colored brown. Similarly, Incoming loses all sorts of credibility when a player can pretty much beat the game by holding down the fire button and waiting for the aliens to cross the gunsights. Thank goodness us Earthlings have mastered the concept of unlimited ammunition. Send Incomingto the outgoing pile.