Amplitude (2003 video game)

Amplitude
Developer(s)	Harmonix
Publisher(s)	SCE
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release	March 24, 2003
Genre(s)	Music
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer,Online mode

Amplitude is a 2003 PlayStation 2 musical video game. It was developed by Harmonix and is the sequel to the game Frequency.

Gameplay

In Amplitude, the player controls a ship (referred to as a "Beat Blaster") moving down a path of varying shapes and lengths, containing up to six tracks. Each color-coded track corresponds to a different aspect of the song, such as percussion, synth, bass, or vocals, and contains a sequence of notes. As the player hits buttons corresponding to the note placement on the track, the notes activate a small portion of the track. If the player successfully activates enough notes in sequence, the track is "captured" and the section will play automatically for a number of bars, freeing the player to capture another section.

Capturing sections also releases "sonic energy" that keeps the Beat Blaster in motion. The primary object of the game is to capture a sufficient amount of sections to reach the end of the song. If the player continually misses notes, the energy meter empties until the game is over.

There are several different powerups available to the player to make gameplay easier. Powerups are gained by activating a series of specially shaped and colored notes. Such powerups allow immediate capturing of tracks, doubling of points scored, slowing down the speed of play, and jumping into freestyle mode (which allows the player to riff to the music, gaining points without the difficulty of playing predefined tracks).

The player achieves a high score in the game by quickly moving from track to track without a break as each is completed, increasing a point multiplier. Tracks with more notes are worth more points, so choosing those over simple tracks is advantageous as well.

The game is structured as a series of levels, each containing a number of regular songs, a "boss" song, and a bonus song available when the player reaches a sufficient aggregate score for the level.

Modes

Amplitude offers four different modes of play: single player game, remix, multiplayer and online.

In single player, the object is to unlock and complete all of the songs. There are four levels of gameply difficulty: Mellow, Normal, Brutal, and Insane. Certain songs are only available to play on harder difficulty settings. Often, the player is rewarded with pieces to construct and customize their FreQ avatar.

The remix mode in Amplitude is much like the one in Frequency. The player may place notes to every section of the song (except the vocal section) in whatever patterns they so choose, creating a unique version of the song. The effects (chorus, delay, etc.) and tempo of the song are also controllable. Finished remixes are available for gameplay in both single player and multiplayer modes.

Multiplayer mode offers three distinct modes: a typical gameplay mode, a head-to-head mode and a remix mode. The main multiplayer mode offers up to four players simultaneous gameplay through any of the unlocked songs. The head-to-head mode features Simon says-esque gameplay between two players, in which the players alternate creating riffs and then attempting to play them back. The remix mode is identical to the single player remix mode, but with the participation of more players.

Online mode offers multiplayer play with an internet connection. However, on February 26, 2007, Sony discontinued the online Amplitude servers, preventing this feature from being used..

Songs

There are 26 songs in Amplitude, the majority of which are tracks by popular music artists, with genres ranging from electronica and dance to hip hop and alternative rock. Some of the tracks, however, were produced "in-house" specifically for Amplitude. For example, Kasson Crooker, who served as the musical director for the game, contributed the songs "Cool Baby", "Synthesized", "Robot Rockerz" and "Spaztik", as well as "Super Sprøde" as performed by his band Freezepop.

The following is a list of artists who contributed songs to the game, with corresponding song title, in order of gameplay. The fourth song in each section is a "boss" song while the fifth is an unlockable bonus song.

† - denotes an original track created specifically for Amplitude

Stage 1 - Neotropolis

1. P.O.D. vs. T.C.M. - "Boom (The Crystal Method Mix)"
2. Garbage - "Cherry Lips"
3. Quarashi - "Baseline"
4. Chris Child featuring Melissa Kaplan - "Shades of Blue"†
5. Logan 7 - "Uptown Saturday Night"

Stage 2 - Beat Factory

1. Run-DMC - "King of Rock (X-Ecutioners Mix)"†
2. The Baldwin Brothers - "Urban Tumbleweed"
3. Weezer - "Dope Nose"
4. David Bowie - "Everyone Says 'Hi' (Metro Mix)"
5. Freezepop - "Super Sprøde"†

Stage 3 - Metaclouds

1. Pink - "Respect"
2. Papa Roach - "M-80 (Explosive Energy Movement)"
3. Mekon with Roxanne Shante - "What's Going On"
4. Herbie Hancock - "Rockit (2.002 Remix)"
5. Production Club - "Rockstar"†

Stage 4 - Elektro Kore

1. DJ HMX with Plural - "Cool Baby"†
2. BT and Wildchild - "Kimosabe"†
3. Manchild - "Nitro Narcosis"†
4. Slipknot - "I Am Hated"
5. Game Boyz - "Push"†

Stage 5 - Blastlands

1. blink-182 - "The Rock Show"
2. Styles of Beyond - "Subculture (Dieselboy + Kaos Rock Mix)"
3. Akrobatik and Symbion Project - "Out The Box"†
4. Symbion Project - "Synthesized"†
5. Komputer Kontroller - "Robot Rockerz"†
6. Cosmonaut Zero - "Spaztik"†

Trivia

• The title of the game comes from Amplitude modulation (AM). The game's predecessor, Frequency, is named after Frequency modulation (FM).
• Akrobatik provides the voice-over for the tutorial sequences.
• BT's track "Kimosabe" has also appeared in Need For Speed: Underground and on the Japanese bonus disc of his album Emotional Technology. However, the version heard in gameplay is different than the "album version", which can be heard in the game's juke box. The difference is the addition of a new main bass line, echoed guitars and more drums. These were added to the gameplay edit to make the song more challengeing, as well as to better fit the gameplay mechanics.
• Manchild's "Nitro Narcosis" is actually a new edit of their song "Hard Wax", which can be heard on their album "United States". The differences are the addition of new vocals, which replace the single vocal samples heard in "Hard Wax", and the title is changed.
• The name "DJ HMX" is a reference to the game's developer, HARMONIX.
• BT, Freezepop, Akrobatik, and many of Kasson Crooker's aliases (including Symbion Project, DJ HMX, and Komputer Kontroller) were all previously featured in Frequency.
• Many fans compiled wish lists of the songs they wanted to see in the game on Harmonix fan site, www.freq.com. The one song most often requested was The Crystal Method's remix of "Boom" by P.O.D. To this day, fans still post wish lists for a third game.

Reviews

• Game Revolution - B
• Gamespot - 8.8/10 (great)
• GameSpy - 79/100
• GameZone - 9.7/10
• IGN - 9.3/10

External links

• Harmonix web-site
• Kasson Crooker's web-site
• Online Community for Frequency/Amplitude players
• Freqremixes.net, a community dedicated to hosting remixes from Frequency and Amplitude's remix modes
• Amplitude at MobyGames