Amplitude

"The best rhythm game on the market."

Ah, Amplitude. THE best rhythm game out there, and a great game overall. Reviewing this game may seem redundant to the people who have already searched for Amplitude in the GameFAQs database, but hey, doesn't every game need some special reinforcement?

The Scores:

Graphics 10/10

The Graphics in this game are above average. The reason I gave them a 10 is the interactivity of them during a level. As your ''rhythm ship'', as I call it, travels down the path, you see notes ahead of you. As you hit them, certain things in the background coincide with those notes you are hitting, with effects like lightning, or a cube of the artist you are playing moving around, or much more. Some of the other effects are nice, also. They involve everything from words being displayed to the words on the song, to the crazy ''city'' you're going through having some subtle effects to make it look better. Some graphics even involve the whole ''sphere'' screen you've got going on to change completely into a moving, pulsating kaleidoscope action. It's very, very cool.

Gameplay 10/10

The gameplay in this game is pretty much perfect in every way. The first thing is how you play. Songs, some popular, some not(yet), are played as you go along. Your ''rhythm ship'' sees these small octagonal shaped things ahead of it, and you hit these with the corresponding buttons, which can be changed in the Controller Configuration. As you hit them, you start to light up a track, and if you complete a phrase, it's completes itself for a set time. What is very cool is that at the beginning of a song, there's nothing except for what you are playing. Later on, however, if you're good, a kind of rewards system comes into play because as you hit phrases accurately, you can listen to more of the song at once. These phrases are actually the instruments' in the song's sounds. They include Vocals, Guitars, Basses, Synthesizers, FX(Usually scratches or samples from old movies), and Drums. You have an energy bar that is always going down as you play the song, and if it empties, it's game over. But, if you complete a phrase, your ''rhythm ship'' absorbs the ''sonic energy'' from the track, and your energy goes up. Pretty cool, eh?

Also in the game are your own personalized FreQs, or pretty-much, your alter-ego in the game. As you go along, you unlock ''Prefabs'', or premade FreQs for you, along with extra parts you can customize yours with. Although a small part of the game, the interactivity with them is great. They play what you are playing in the game with futuristic versions of Drums, Microphones, and every other instrument you use.

Audio 10/10

If you look at the playlist for Amplitude, which includes a wide range of musical styles, you would probably see some songs you don't like. Well, don't fret. Every song you play is fun, no matter how much you hate it. Playing a song is much, MUCH better than listening to it. There's everything from The Crystal Method's Remix of P.O.D.'s ''Boom'' to the groovalicious ''Urban Tumbleweed'' from the Baldwin Brothers(NOT the actors), to the metal stylings of ''I Am Hated'' by Slipknot, with Trance and Rap and Rock and everything else thrown in. It actually is quite good audio, and there is a soundtrack mode so you can go back and listen to the songs that you like, and remove those from your playlist you don't like as much.

Replay Value ?/10

The reason this catergory has a question mark is of the online play. Yes, online play in a rhythm game. If you have the network adaptor from Sony, you can play Amplitude online with other FreQs from around the world. If you don't have the Network Adaptor, there is still replay, just not at all as much. There is a Remix mode, where you can make your own remixes of the songs included in Amplitude, and it has some cool features like being able to speed up or slow down the song while it's playing. It's a great way to embarrass friends and make yourself look like you play better than them all the time, lol. Online play is well done, and works with dial-up and broadband adaptors. Lag is more noticeable in some areas than others, especially in dial-up, but for the most part, it works out all right. A final blow to your defiance against getting the network adaptor would be the Remix Repository. You can download, play, and sometimes edit other people's remixes of songs, and can play those online, also. It's a great tool, and there's some hard remixes on there. Back to offline play, there are four difficulties, Mellow, Normal, Brutal, and Insane. All of these difficulties have a good learning curve for you, and if you go back a few levels, you'll wonder how you could have had trouble with such an easy song. You'll be amazed at how fast you become better. Yet another thing I seem to have forgotten until now is the offline Mutliplayer Mode. You can play with your friends and compete for points in whatever song you choose. All the songs are there, and you can even play remixes, too. It's quite fun if friends want to join in, but don't have their own copy(yet).

Overall 10/10

This game's only point you can throw up in the air is replay. After a while, however, you will think about some song you know but can't quite place, and remember it from Amplitude, or its predecessor, Frequency. It'll keep you coming back to hone your skills online or keep you remixing offline. All the features are here, from customizable FreQs to beating your friends to even having your own multiplayer offline. All of these features make Amplitude a pretty-much Must Buy game, in my opinion, and at the least, a rental. PLUS, this game is only forty buckaroonies, compared to the normal fifty you're payin' for new games all the time. Luckily, some distributors have gotten smart to lower the price for gamers who can't shell out all that money all the time. Just remember, if you buy them, there will be more sequels. And while you're at it, get Frequency, too!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/12/03, Updated 04/12/03