I wish there were more games like this.. a mix of music and timed button mashing. But it does feel incomplete somehow..

User Rating: 7.7 | Amplitude PS2
By HotGimmick | Review Date:
Amplitude is not an average puzzle game set to music. Controls are as follows- you use the shoulder buttons (in addition to the R2 button) to hit one of three different types of nodes that glide past the screen. Nodes are linked together to form verses of the song- and hitting all of the nodes in such a section will allow you to accumalate bonus points. You have a life bar that depletes when you are idle, or when you hit the wrong button at the wrong time. Things are constantly moving and as you progress in the game your full attention will be required in order to beat each stage. There are 27 stages (27 songs) in all on 3 different difficulty levels. There is an incentive to playing each song under each difficulty level because you can earn bonus clothes and accessories for your alter ego in the game. This avatar is called a "FreQ" and can be either male or female. It can be fun to earn a whole bunch of stuff and be able to modify your freq quite freely. He or she is present on the screen during gameplay. Speaking of what is present on the screen during gameplay- there'll be some minor streaming video (pictures?) of whichever band is playing- but the vast majority of the background is a neat tapestry of shiny, colorful, and always moving neon backdrops. Similar to the equalizer that is often included with music software. ^_^ The graphics are all great and detailed.. except for the freqs. They are jagged, plain, and remind me of old avatars from The Sims. Anyway back to what my first focus of the review was- the controls. I think they are quite accurate and become more user-friendly as you get accustomed to the game. At first- even on the easiest difficulty level- the frenzy was indomitable. It took alot of practice to adjust. Even then, the two levels of difficulty (hard and very hard) are just insane. The level of speed.. I think it might just rival that of light. ^^; In all seriousness, there is a learning curve but it doesn't take too long to master. So the game can be easy.. or maddening if you choose to endure and succeed the hardest difficulty levels. One interesting thing I noticed was that there seem to be two different ways in which you can play the game. Often I chose to just watch the nodes and press the buttons as instructed. But a player could also just pay close attention to the beat of the song and follow instinct. Odd, but it has saved me from a few game overs. 0_0

Nodes on the screen are dispersed throughout colored tracks that signify a particular instrument. Completing a track and jumping to the next one immediately will allow two different instruments in the song to play harmonously in sync. Speedy and accurate completion of all the tracks will result in all the parts of the song coming together and making sense. Yes I know that was one of the most confusing things you've ever heard. This is not an easy system to explain, you really have to play it in order to understand. It is quite interesting to have such control over each song- though the game moves at too high a pace to really relish it.

Now for what is probably the most important portion of this game- the music. There is quite a diverse selection here. We've got some good electronica/techno/trance- most of them are from current underground artists, while there are a handful of old classics (Herbie Hancock) There are some mainstream pop and rock strewn in here- like Garbage, Blink 182, Weezer, and Slipknot. There are alot of rap and rock tracks- alongside some surprising inclusions of David Bowie or pop princess, Pink. Most of this stuff is electronica though. Really, it doesn't matter if you dislike an artist, their voice, the beat of the song- because there is enough freedom to let you forego certain instruments and make it sound quite different. I can't for the life of me stand Blink 182's lead vocalist's voice, nor the lyrics, but some parts of the background music is fine and it was perfectly fun to play because of that. I must say the team behind this game did a good job trying to rally up some energetic and catchy music.

But there simply aren't enough tracks. While the game is a steal at a mere $7 via any used store online, it simply isn't worth the inital $50 asking price.

There are 23 songs (this includes the bonus songs you can earn in each "world" of the game) on easy mode, and if you choose to laborously beat the brutal and insane modes (very accurately named..) you'll get.. wait for it.. two additional songs! -_- If this game had.. 70+ songs, it would probably get a 10/10 for taking over my life.

Because truly, I was addicted to this game for the short amount of time it lasted. Despite barely being able to get a foothold into the later parts of normal mode, I really did enjoy everything that was here. Trying to get high scores in songs (which can unlock a bonus song in each world..) became something new and fun to strive for.

Now there are some extra features that I didn't delve too deep into. But they are very much a part of the game, so I'll go over what I know about them. There is online play. So those who really get into it can find masses of fun going online and playing against others and saving their scores.

There is also a multiplayer option.. which I haven't tried out yet, but it's a great inclusion.

You can create custom remixes.. but you can't mix songs together. That's really the only neat thing I could imagine getting out of it. The interface for that part of the game is extremely confusing, but there is a tutorial. There is also a tutorial for the main game. In-game tutorials are something every game should have, so I was glad about that.

And finally, as you collect songs, you can listen to their full unhindered versions in the "soundtrack" section of this game. A nice bonus.

Overall.. I liked this game. But it just needs more. More songs.. more extra junk to collect to ratchet up the playing and replaying value.. there are so many additions that could be made. There is alot of potential in the ideas this game has.

Other Helpful Reviews for Amplitude

Load Comments (0)