Introversion's new game

Apparantly called Subversion. The guys apparantly intend to reveal parts of the development process as they work on the game, which is especially interesting as they aren't going to say exactly what kind of game it is until a much later stage. I'm a big fan of the company's first two titles, Uplink and Darwinia (still not quite put much time into the third, Defcon), though I haven't completed them. I'm really looking forward to learning more about Subversion.

Ouch!

Last week's chart-topper, Incubus' "Light Grenades," sets an undesirable record on The Billboard by dropping to No. 37, the biggest position drop ever from No. 1. Previously, Marilyn Manson's 2003 album "The Golden Age of Grotesque" held the record after sliding to No. 21 in its second week.

That is seriously a bummer. The album managed to grab the number #1 slot last week because it was a relatively slow week, but it was still a way for the name to get thrown out for people to see. The album is at #10 on the iTunes album chart, I'm told, which isn't bad at all. Now it'll probably not move up or down as rapidly on the charts, and will need to rely on it's singles. Speaking of which, Anna Molly managed to reach the number #1 spot on the Modern Rock tracks chart, and moved up to #7 on the Mainstream Rock tracks chart. That's great news, and solid positions for the album release period.

BioShock marketing campaign begins

Of course, interesting things would start happening while I am completely unable to benefit from them. A day or so ago someone over at TTLG, presumably from Take Two, posted in a BioShock thread that she'd be getting the marketing of the game started up until spring, when it's supposed to be released. So, the new site has been put up, and a new trailer has been debuted which as of right now is only on the Spike TV site.

I won't be able to see the trailer, unfortunately, but I am able to check out the new site and the various new material that's been put up. There are a few new screenshots, showing mainly new weapons like the flamethrower and some kind of machine gun. There's an interesting new section called "Rapture", which seems like it'll show different places in the city, with a little information and some pictures; currently there are only two places available.

I'm pretty excited now that things will start moving for the game, they must be quite certain about the Spring release date which really isn't that far off.

[Update]
I managed to see the trailer thanks to a YouTube rip. It seems standard fare for a TV trailer, silly narration over a montage of quick all-action moments. Some of said moments, though, are pretty frickin cool. I was floored to learn that the planecrash scene was completely real-time. That water is just beautiful, beyond my conservative-realistic hopes. Some other interesting things in the trailer are the flamethrower which isn't even being weilded by the player, it's being used by one enemy on another. Very cool. There is visual confirmation of the report that you could catch a grenade thrown at you by an enemy with a telekinesis power, and with the same power project it at another enemy.

The marketing manager, '2K Elizabeth', also let slip that the game was headed for a June '07 release, which sounds about right.

Incubus at KROQ Almost Acoustic X-Mas

Setlist:
A Kiss to Send Us Off
Wish You Were Here
Anna Molly
Nice to Know You
Warning
Sick Sad Little World
Megalomaniac
Drive
Dig
Rogues
Pardon Me

Audio (.MP3, ~50MB)
Video (.ASF, ~119 MB)

If I was able to download the audio I'd be able to say something about it, but I'll have to wait til after I get back to college before I can do so. I've been hearing some good things about the performance, though.

Light Grenades: #1 on The Billboard 200

Incubus earns its first No. 1 album on The Billboard 200 this week with the Epic set "Light Grenades," which moved 165,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan. The rock outfit's last set, 2004's "A Crow Left of the Murder," debuted at No. 2, though with a 332,000 start.

This is utterly awesome news, I'm glad that the band is finally getting some real recognition, and what better time than with a solid, accessible record. The singles should do well too, though I admit I was hoping that Anna Molly would do better (currently stuck at #2 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks and curving off at #11 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks). The next single, Dig should do a lot better - speaking of which, the fan video competition for Dig officially started earlier this week. This should prove to be a very interesting competition indeed, I can't wait to see what people come up with.

Ken Levine interview at Evil Avatar

Part 1, and part 2. Nothing really new revealed, and I think the interviewer was trying to be a little too intellectual for his own good.

BioShock article in PC Gamer

There is a one-page preview of BioShock in the January issue of PC Gamer US. There's nothing really new, it describes the demo shown at X06, but the two screenshots used are new. Plus, there is one little point about the plasmids that I have not seen mentioned anywhere that I think is really interesting :

"... They are also stackable (meaning you can combine the effects of multiple plasmids), and in Bioshock's submerged ruined city of Rapture, their creative implementation will be essential to your character's survival."

The number of plasmids and their variety keep changing with each mention of them, but we've known the basic idea behind them for ages; however I think this small detail changes the whole aspect of the game quite a bit, if it's true. It will definitely help to introduce emergent gameplay and some very interesting situations indeed. I'm quite intrigued by this bit of news and I'm looking forward to seeing this in action.

Incubus at Nissan Live Sets show 20/11/06

Incubus performed in San Francisco on Monday for the Nissan Live Sets promotional show. There's video up of the set and some pictures and fan impressions. I can't see the show because of my unique combination of POS computer and slow connection, but apparently it's pretty good.

Set list:
A Kiss to Send Us Off
Wish You Were Here
Anna Molly
Hello (Lionel Richie cover) / Q&A
11 AM
Megalomaniac
Rogues
Billie Jean (Michael Jackson cover) / Q&A
Paper Shoes
Sick Sad Little World
A Crow Left of the Murder

[Update]
Well, someone managed to rip and sendspace the show ( .RAR, 280MB ), for all those who can't stream it.

Incubus on Love Line 29/11/06

Brandon, Mike and Jose were guests on the 29th November episode of Love Lines, a radio show in which people call in to ask for advice on matters of relationships, sex and drugs. The show was hilarious, it was as much about the band as it was about the callers, and there were a lot of very interesting things discussed throughout.