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We recently had the opportunity to test out Harmonix’s new PlayStation 2 exclusive rhythm game, Amplitude, and while the full version should hit stores in just over a week, we thought our readers might want some impressions of the game before it’s officially out. Only two songs were available to play through: Garbage’s hook-heavy Cherry Lips and Quarashi’s rock/rap track Baseline, but those songs were all that was needed to realize that Amplitude will be even more addictive than its predecessor, Frequency. If you don’t already know the concept behind Amplitude, it is actually quite simple. Basically you navigate a series of tracks while blasting jewels that are placed on the left, middle, and right sides of the track. Each jewel holds a musical component of the song you’re currently playing through, and by destroying them you will unlock the sounds that they hold. By destroying consecutive jewels without error, you’ll destroy entire tracks that will keep that particular track playing as you focus on another track. It’s all about keeping the beat alive.
The developers were actually able to obtain the master track recordings for the 20- featured songs in the game, allowing them to flawlessly splice each track into the visual landscape of the game. Some of the featured artists even went hands-on with the development of the game. Run DMC, for example, did some exclusive remixing for their track entitled The King of Rock. Amplitude will be split up into five different arenas. Each arena will have its own set of five songs and unlike Frequency, to which this game is the spiritual successor, there will actually be a boss level at the end of every arena. The preview copy we obtained did not include the boss fights but Harmonix promises that they are going to be drastically different in terms of visual style than the rest of the experience. Each song will have four different difficulty levels: Mellow, Normal, Brutal, and Insane. The first two difficulty settings proved to be quite easy, but once we bumped it up to Brutal, the challenge began. Insane difficulty was just as the name suggests, insane. This editor couldn’t last more than 30 seconds on Insane difficulty. It goes without saying there will be considerable replay value for anyone who craves a hardcore challenge, but the lower difficulty settings ensure that even casual gamers will derive plenty of entertainment from the game.
We weren’t able to check out the multiplayer modes but Harmonix claims that it will include a standard play mode, wherein you and a friend will attempt to get the higher score, and a multiplayer remix mode that is more of a cooperative style of play, where you and up to three friends will collaborate in unlocking as many tracks as possible. But even more interesting is the new Duel mode that allows a player to hammer out a custom phrase with different instruments and then have the other player attempt to match your phrase; think musical HORSE. Perhaps the most anticipated aspect of Amplitude is the ability to go online and play it with other gamers. The developers promise that the game will run smoothly even over a standard dial-up connection. Unfortunately we were not able to confirm this but considering the relatively simple nature of the gameplay, it’s not hard to believe. Amplitude online features a ranking system whereby you’ll have a permanent account and every time you win or lose, your ranking status will be updated. There will also be an avatar system that will guide you through the process of setting up your online persona. The avatar that you customize will actually appear onscreen during play and groove along with the beat while playing the instrument or vocal sequence you’re currently hammering out.
Visually, Amplitude doesn’t look drastically different from Frequency, but you will notice a lot more focus on special effects and Hollywood-style environments to play around in. The music featured in Amplitude will be the star of the show. How Harmonix was able to get such a diverse collection of artists to sign up is beyond me. You can expect tunes from such artists as David Bowie, Run-DMC, P.O.D., Weezer, Pink and many others. Frequency was a great game, and though it’s based on a pretty simple foundation, it still shined through as one of the most original games of 2001. Amplitude seems primed to outshine Frequency in nearly every way, with an impressive cast of musical artists and the introduction of online play. Keep an eye out for our review later this month.
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