Incubus Has Released Incubattle To Promote Its Newest Album, "If Not Now, When?"

You might like Incubus or not, but there’s no denying that the social media campaign that they have put together to promote their latest album (“If Not Now, When?”) has been nothing short of admirable.

First, they had an interactive live stream going. Then, they announced a partnership with video-sharing app Viddy. And then, they began interacting with fans on Formspring.

What was left to do after all that action?

The answer was entirely obvious… a beat’em-up a la Double Dragon or Renegade!

These are two names that will surely ring a bell if you’re over 30. They were two of the most popular arcade games of the ‘80s, and I recall endless summer vacations playing them with my older brother.

Well, Incubus has come with their very own variation on such titles to promote their latest album. It’s named Incubattle, and they have done a terrific job as far as I’m concerned.

The game lets you pick your favorite band member and fight your way over five different stages, fighting pirates that have stolen copies of the album (he!). You can play the game on your own, or with a friend. And in addition to the usual punch/jump/dash controls, each character can perform a special move when he has collected enough leaked copies of the album.

At the end of each stage, one has to fight members of rival band Suckubus. And at the end of the game, the player must square up to a flying baddy that takes as much brawn as brain to bite the dust. Once this final boss has been trounced, then the player can tweet his score.

It took me half an hour to complete the game. I lost twice, but thankfully you are provided with a number of continues to use.

I must admit I had a phenomenal time playing the game. Heck, I grew up with things like this. Give me something this playable over any of these 3D-powered beasts of games available today.

Kudos to Incubus for the thought that went into this marketing campaign. They’ve covered so many bases that if they haven’t enticed just everybody at one point or the other then they must have come pretty close.