Amplitude

"A DJ reviewing a music game, this should be good"

Amplitude is a follow up to Freqency released by Harmonix. It's another music game where you have to press a bottom at the right moment. In this game you control a blaster ship zapping blue note capsules as you run up various instrumental tracks. Allow me to go deeper into the game explain why this is a must own music game for the PS2.

Well maybe there isn't a very deep storyline like Metal Gear but at least it has one unlike DDR. Basically you create a freq, and go off on your marry way to build a song track by track. Well that's it on story standards.

There are four levels to choose from: mellow, normal, brutal, and insane. Like I said you go up a musical track blasting notes using your blaster ship. To blast notes you use the L1 bottom to zap notes on the left side, R1 to zap notes in the middle, R2 to zap notes on the right side, and there's the directional pad to alternate between tracks. The controls actually made me get used to pressing the right shoulder buttons with separate fingers. This is crucial when playing on insane and later parts of brutal mode.

This is a music game and people would expect high quality music. Well you won't be disappointed with this title. Unlike Freqency, you won't be surrounded with unknown artists on the techno world. In this game you will be playing great tracks by rock hits from Blink 182 and Slipknot, off the hook hip hop beats with Run DMC (Remixed by the X-Ecutioners) and Herbie Hancock, a very blippy pop song by Freezepop, obviously techno songs by Symbion and David Bowie, and a lot more artists and genres to keep you happy.

When playing music games, who cares about the background? All we're concentrating on is the notes and when to zap it. Well until Amplitude, all music game requires a friend to play the song while you kick back and watch the cinematics. Well now all you have to do is beat the song and go to freestyle mode. From there you can enjoy the splendid backgrounds. Is it going to be a weak DDR-like experience? Nope! Not at all! You can take a DDR background, add a cup of 3D futuristic effects, blend together for 10 minutes, multiply by 8, and end up with an Amplitude background. The cool thing is that there is some video action of the artist (see the Blink 182 and DJ HMX ft/ Plural backgrounds); although, it my be only a repeating of 10 scenes each a second long. Plus it does alternate with a picture of your freq playing whatever instrument that your blaster ship is on.

''Is there anything else very special about this game?'' you ask. Well have you ever wanted to make custom remixes of songs before? If your answer is yes, then try out the remix mode of the game. Thankfully there is a nifty tutorial to help you get started. Making a remix can be a little lengthy, but it maybe worth submitting online. What I haven't told you about the online comparability? Shame on me. Online is one of the best behind SOCOM and Tony Hawk 4. When online, you compete in a ladder, or rating, system. Online is like multi-player mode but without the trash talking fun. Well maybe you can still do that, but it's not going to be as intimidating.

''Should I buy it then?'' you ask. Well it depends, are you willing to cough up 40-50 bucks for a game including all the features I've mentioned? If your answer is yes, then go to FuncoLand, Wal-mart, Gamestop, or any place that sells video games and pick up a copy. I suggest to those non-music loving gamers to rent first to see how it plays out.

So what have we learned people? Amplitude rocks the visual, audio, and replay category. The only complain I got is the create-a-freq where it's not as deep as THPS4 and the song Komputer Controller on insane mode. This is the best music game I've played since DDR MAX. I only wish it can be as athletic, then again who cares?

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/02/03, Updated 06/16/03