pearl-drum-man's Full Review: Amplitude for PlayStation 2
INTRO
One of the great benefits to a system with the popularity of the PS2 is the massive library of games. Of course you’ll have a full range of games from great, to mediocre, and downright awful. The one oft overlooked area are those un-hyped, little heard of titles that sneak out, and end up being some of the best games on the market. Over the past couple of years, the PS2 has seen its share of these little gems, like Ico, Fatal Frame, and Frequency. Frequency is a music/rhythm game, in the spirit of Dance, Dance Revolution and PaRappa the Rappa. Due to the success of Frequency, Sony and Harmonix have brought us an excellent sequel, and have improved on all of the things that made Frequency such a gaming pleasure.
THE GAME
As mentioned, the game revolves around music, and your rhythmic use of the controller to “build” tracks. There is an onscreen track for each major instrument: Red for drums, blue for bass, Orange for guitars, green for vocals, etc. You view is essentially first person, as if in a spacecraft. You have a “gun” with three barrels. As you scroll through and enter each track, there will be little pods, which are in three columns per track. It is up to you to “shoot” these as you fly over, and doing so will make the music run. The key is to clear tracks without missing beats. By clearing a track, that instrument will begin to play for a limited time, and you simple scroll over to the next track and repeat. The process is all about timing, accuracy, and speed. Ideally, by clearing multiple tracks, you can get the entire track to play. If you continually miss beats, your life meter will drain and it’s game over!
The game runs on a points based system. There are a variety of power-ups available, which will enhance your scores. Use of the Autoblaster will allow you to clear out a particularly difficult track; the Score Double power-up will simply allow you to double the score in a given row. One of the changes made in Amplitude is the use of the Freestyle power-up. In Frequency, the freestyle would appear as another track. In Amplitude, the freestyle allows you free reign over the screen, with a zig-zagging line, which pumps up the visual appeal. There are 26 tracks in Amplitude, most of which are locked. The curve from the easier tracks to the more difficult tracks is pretty linear, which will help prepare you for those later rounds.
In addition to the single player game, you have the ability to play in multi-player, and Sony/Harmonix have decided to offer an ambitious online option. The online aspect will allow you to take on three other gamers, head-to-head. You also have the ability to make remixes of the songs, and can even upload them online for possible use.
CONTROL (8)
The control scheme is simple, and well laid out; however your ability to execute it is what will really count! As mentioned, when in a track you have three columns of pods to aim for, left, center, and right. I believe onscreen it recommends the L1 button (left), the R1 button (center), and the R2 button (right). I actually found that by substituting the triangle button for the R1 button (center) made the controls much easier and more natural. For me it helped me more easily envision left, center, and right, instead of what felt like left, right, right with the default controls. Otherwise, you simply scroll tracks with the d-pad, use the other action buttons for the power-ups, and use the control stick to use the Freestyle power-up all over the screen. Execution and accuracy are the keys here. If you've never played Frequency, then you'll likely have a bit of a learning curve to endure, but once you hands make the connection to the music, it is very much second nature.
GRAPHICS (8)
If you’ve played Frequency, then what you’ll see in Amplitude is much the same style. They have revamped the track layout, which is a bit easier to follow, and as mentioned the use of Freestyle all over the screen looks pretty cool. Though it’s tough to follow while actually playing the game, there are subtle video feeds of the artists in the background, which is a nice touch. Otherwise, the graphics are clean, crisp, and very colorful!
SOUND (9)
Being a music based game, of course the sound needs to be great, and it is! I always play it pumping through my stereo, and it features great sound. With 26 artists, you have a nice variety, even more so than in Frequency. Frequency definitely had more of a techno slant; with Amplitude you have several great rock oriented acts (like Slipknot, Weezer, Papa Roach, Blink 182), along with others such as Pink, Run DMC, and many more. I think the variety will satisfy most gamers, but even I found myself really enjoying songs that I normally would not listen to.
REPLAY (10)
One of the great things about a game like Amplitude, is you can sit down for a few minutes, and just have fun! You need not commit to long levels, or look for save points, or rattle your brain with puzzles, etc. Often, what starts out as a few minutes of fun, turns into an hour! Even after completing all the tracks, you still have the constant challenge of trying to improve your scores. Not satisfied with that, well that’s where the multi-player and the online aspects come in to seal the deal. I found the gameplay itself to be addictive enough to merit regular play, but with these extra options, Amplitude should have no problem keeping you involved long-term.
OVERALL (9)
Sony and Harmonix took a good thing, and made it a little better. Visual improvements, more varied track listings, and the expansive online capabilities make Amplitude a must own title for the PS2!
Become a top-notch DJ in Sony's Amplitude. Developed exclusively for the PlayStation2 by Harmonix Music Systems, Amplitude is a fast-paced rhythm-acti...More at GameQuest Direct. com
ESRB Rating: Teen Genre: Rhythm Action Mission: Earn points by pressing corresponding buttons on the controller at the right time, Platforms: PlayStat...More at Amazon Marketplace
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