Preview

Platform: PlayStation 2
Developer: Harmonix Music Systems, Inc.
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Previewed by Richard Brownell on 2003-12-06

Harmonix Music Systems broke into the console video game scene in November 2001 with their hit music/rhythm title, FreQuency. This groundbreaking title allowed up to four players to enjoy music in a trippy 3D world complete with music from some of the 2001's top recording artists. It was also the first music game to allow online play.

Amplitude is the sequel to FreQuency and Harmonix intends for it to be improved on multiple levels. First and foremost, the great features of the first game are still present. There are still hit songs from artists such as David Bowie, Garbage, and Weezer to please the ears and crazy graphics to please the eyes. The player can once again mix and remix these songs as well.

The environments in Amplitude are customized to the artist that recorded the music being played. The environments include five new arenas and each song takes a different route through the arena, creating a unique experience for each playthrough even including streaming video content from the artists. Inside these environments, the player must recreate these hit songs from the ground up by controlling the drums, bass, guitars, and vocals. Upon completion of the four skills levels, players will have the ability to go into freestyle mode to create custom own remixes of the songs.

Players can once again dig out their PS2 Network Adapter to play Amplitude online and challenge their friends in multi-player and remix mode. Features such as a ladder-ranking mode, voice chat, and a remix repository allow players to truly create an online music community based around this game. The remix repository allows players to put their remixes online for others to listen to. Amplitude's online service is available to broadband and dial-up, of course, so everybody is welcome.

There are more than 20 diverse songs and video content in Amplitude. Starting with one instrument, such as drums, the player must hit the appropriate buttons at the right time in order to match the rhythm of the song. Once one instrument is successfully mixed, players can move on to another instrument, such as guitar, and continue through all the instruments, performing all instrumental tracks and re-creating the song.

In Amplitude, players are able to create their own identity or "FreQ." This is a 3D representation of the player that jams with them while the player is mashing away at buttons trying to get the right rhythms.

There are four difficulty modes, which should be enough to cover those who've never played a rhythm game to those whose fingers are faster than PaRappa and whose feet can outstyle DDR.

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