Frequency

"One of the better rhythm/music titles, but seems rather cold after awhile."

Frequency has certainly raised the bar for music titles that seek to involve the listener/player as an active participant. The gameplay allows people to become a part of the music more so than virtually any other dance/rhythm game. Add to that some well-made visual stylings, and Frequency is, in many ways, a grand triumph, really. It's certainly more fun an addictive than goal-based games like PaRappa or DDR, thanks to it's rather non-restrictive progression system (mistakes are nowhere near as fatal as they are in those titles). As undoubtedly most people know, Frequency is primarily based along tapping controller buttons in time to the ''tracks'' of a particular song, broken up into sections. When you mimic an entire bar of music, the track is ''cleared'', plays by itself, and you can then move on to another musical element. When the next section of the song comes up, the process starts over. The controls are extremely simple, with the bulk of the game only using 3 buttons. As a result, Frequency is challenging without the insanity of 8+ button music games like Bust-A-Move, etc.. While you travel down these ''musical pipes'' playing the notes, the hypnotic visuals pulsate and move in flow with the tunes, and the end result is something very involving and absorbing.
As good as Frequency is overall, though, I think the developers could have aimed much higher, but instead, seem to have settled for a middle-ground that, at times, smacks of either rushing the game out, or simply not caring about a few flaws. For starters, I personally think the songs are pretty weak. Although they are all licensed songs by established artists, many of the tracks were obviously just top 40 crap stuck in the game to give it some ''name'' artists. Considering the wide field that electronic/techno music has, the entire game could have easily been scored with fantastic dance/ambient beats without lacking. Instead, commercial choices like poor No Doubt and Powerman 5000 mixes make totally weak appearances as generally mediocre songs. The tunes function, but the selection could have been MUCH better and certainly more informed (like the Wipeout soundtracks). And, speaking of music, while the sectional nature of the game is interesting, it also means the music is very sparse during gameplay, unless you're really quick. Typically, the average player will only be hearing a few tracks per section, which may or may not even add up to a song. On some occasions, this is cool since it results in a dynamic remix each time you play the game, but on the same token, on the harder songs, it's hard enough to play without having to concentrate on which tracks you want to play to make the song sound better. The fact that you're dropped into total silence when the section ends (sometimes) is jarring and takes away some of the experience. Another minor complaint of mine is that, like many rhythm games, the precision of the controls are not QUITE spot on. There are times when you'll be totally with the beat, but yet miss notes by mere macro-fractions of a second, leaving little room for error. On the harder songs, this dis-coordination between song, game, and controller vibration is frustrating to say the least.
Frequency adds in unlockable songs and minor features which would be great were the conditions not virtually ridiculous. The scores required to reach the upper level of high scores are a little on the insane side, especially considering that scores are largely determined by luck. Sure, a good player can get a great score, but since the accumulation of power-ups has such an OBVIOUS effect on high scores, making the high-scores hit-or-miss was, in my opinion, a mistake. Especially since you'll lose more points if you wait for powerups to appear.
I will grant that the remix mode (in which a player can literally construct their own level out of any unlocked song) is a very cool, interactive idea which allows people to challenge others with their remixes. It's revolutionary, BUT, while being totally revolutionary, it also can't save what is basically a very simplistic, straight game. For some reason, instead of including the online mode, Sony opted to wait till online was more viable, then re-release Frequency, which seems like something of a rip-off to people who payed $50 for this, then must pay $50 again to play online when that version comes out. At times, Frequency can be staggeringly brilliant, but at other times, it seems rather short-sighted and too sure of itself. The lack of game modes (despite all the good things in remix mode) made it feel rather bare to me. Challenge can be had in the higher difficulties, but without endings or characters or any kind of true unlockables (other than some simple things like backgrounds, etc..) the motivation was a bit thin. Frequency 2 should build on these great concepts, but instead, aim higher for something that totally kicks the world of dance/rhythm games on its heels, rather than settling for ''almost there.''

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/14/02, Updated 01/14/02