Two years after Sony made us all wish we were DJs with Frequency, the company unleashed Amplitude on the music-game playing population last month. This game is far and beyond better than what Frequency ever thought it could be.
Gameplay
For those familiar with Frequency, the gameplay is basically the same. You want to bust the jewels in the audio tracks to build the song. Every combo that is finished gives the full playback of that part of the song, whether it is vocals, guitar, etc.
The big difference from Frequency is the way the tracks are laid out. In Frequency, the layout looked like that of Tempest on a really bad acid trip with all the audio tracks situated in an octagon. Amplitude's audio tracks are all spread out on a plane, which makes it a little difficult to hit the combos because you can't even see the other side of the tracks.
The real gameplay comes in the remix mode. A player can take a song like "I am Hated" by Slipknot and basically turn it into a different song. This is where the game shines. It can turn any chump without skills into a rockin' DJ . The skilled DJs will leave those wanna-be's crying home for mom.
Graphics
The best way to describe the graphics is take the eye candy in Apple's iTunes and kick it up about 20 notches. Not only does the background feature those funky effects, but most of the time it has the video of the song playing. The best example is "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" by Garbage. For a good portion of this song, Shirley Manson stares and sings at you.
Music
As in Frequency, Amplitude features a great mix of rock, hip-hop and techno. I almost started to cry when I actually got to remix Run D.M.C.'s "King of Rock." The musical line-up also features Weezer, Blink 182, Pink, David Bowie and P.O.D., among other lesser-known European techno acts. The best songs were the ones provided by Sony, like "Robot Rockerz" by Komputer Kontroller and "Synthesized" by Symbion Project. The absolute best song was the remix of Herbie Hancocks' "Rockit." The greats like Mixmaster Mike and DJ Qbert got their paws on that song and completely reinvented it into a much better song.
Online
I was easily bored with the repetitive gameplay and decided to take the game online. This is the best part of the game. You get to compete against other players from across the globe in up to four-on-four action. These kids come to play so only flash the skills if you got 'em.
Going online also gives you the option to choose what your avatar, or FreQ, could look like. Unlike Frequency, Amplitude allows you to build your character from different body parts that can change the color instead of silly colored basic shapes. Your FreQ is also used when playing in single player mode.
Final Note
Amplitude is both fun and addictive. It does have a bit of a learning curve. If you're like Steve Martin from The Jerk, you may want to start out in Mellow mode to get a feel for the game. Other than that, Amplitude is definitely one that shouldn't be missed. Now if I could only think of a way to rig my Dance Dance Revolution mat up to this game.
Ryan Eilders is the Webmaster and video games reporter for the ASU Web Devil. You can reach him at ryan.eilders@asu.edu.
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