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Amplitude Review
Chris Leyton
19/08/2003
Whilst we weren't expecting much, Amplitude has quickly become our favourite title in the music genre...
Itâs a crime, by the time âAmplitudeâ is released in Europe, our friends across the pond will have had it for over six months. Bah, but at least itâs finally here, as the age-old saying goes âBetter late..â.
Amplitude is the sequel to the popular PS2 music title âFrequencyâ, and as such borrows heavily from that title. For those that didnât check out the first game, players fly across a route composed of different tracks and the staple diet of trippy visuals. Each track corresponds to an instrument in the song and dotted with left, middle and right markers; as the markers reach the bottom players must tap corresponding buttons (L1, R1, R2) in time with the music. Successfully completing a section of the track â“ indicated by lines joining the markers â“ will temporarily clear the track and allow you to move on to the next one.
Now here comes the sheer genius touch, if youâre quick youâll be able to swap over to the next track without missing a beat and gaining a score multiplier; not only can you link this up to a mighty 8X, but it also gives an indication of the best route through the song. Adding this feature brings an excellent score mechanic to the game, which results in a title that everybody can play but few will put down; simply put this is one of the most addictive titles Iâve played in a long, long time.
To help you out (and believe me youâll need it), a variety of power-upâs scatter the route and can be collected by hitting all of the power-up icons that replace the note markers on the tracks. Power-Upâs include the âAutoBlasterâ, which clears out a row for you; the âScore Multiplierâ, which as it suggest briefly multiplies your score; the new âSlow-Moâ, which slows down the song making it ideal for tricky tracks and finally the enhanced âFreestyleâ power-up that allows you to move away from the tracks and scratch a few samples with careful movements of the shoulder and directional buttons.
Itâs a game that will take a few goes before you get the concept (if it still sounds slightly daunting check out the video clip), however after that be prepared to literally loose hours just trying to complete the last few tracks on a tricky âdrum-and-bassâ tune; perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay Amplitude, is by saying that my âvideogame-hatingâ partner has turned into an addicted, craving Amplitude fiend after only a few goes, I find myself waking up in the early hours to the tunes of âDiesel-Boyâ and the occasional profanity whenever a beat goes missed.
Thereâs a great sense of satisfaction gained when you nail a track without missing a beat, whilst turning on certain sections in certain songs has an almost epic feel as you slowly build the song up from the ground. Using music as the basis for a videogame has always been a great concept, and itâs left us wandering why nobody has ever thought of doing something like this before.
A game such as Amplitude would only be as good as the music on offer, thankfully Amplitude contains an impressive 26-licensed songs catering to a wide selection of musical tastes. Amplitude merges little-known music acts with such heavyweights as Blink-182, David Bowie and Pink; our only concern is that the music is extremely orientated towards the American market and as always we just want more â“ hereâs hoping for the sequel.
Amplitude Artist Listing
- Pink
- BT
- The X-ecutioners
- Slipknot
- Game Boyz
- Baldwin Brothers
- blink 182
- David Bowie
- Dieselboy
- Garbage
- Herbie Hancock
- Logan 7
- Mekon
- Papa Roach
- P.O.D.
- Quarashi
- Weezer
Visually Amplitude will make your eyes bleed at times; the backgrounds are a fusion of neon colours, video walls and psychedelic effects. A number of nice particle and lighting effects greet each successfully completed track, which really brings everything to life.
Amplitude became a big title in America because of its online features; thankfully these have all made it into the European transition. Players can make up their own avatars from a wide selection of unlockable items, and take this online to compete against three other people. The online mode includes ranking system and downloadable content, whilst players can also upload their remix samples to the Harmonix servers for other people to check out â“ in a separate mode players can remix the songs on offer to their very own style.
