Rhythm games have moved on from the likes of the original “Amplitude.” Released back in 2003 for the PlayStation 2, the original “Amplitude” (itself a sequel to the game “Frequency”) had you chasing high scores as you mellowed out to some trance, electronica, or techno music and pressed buttons in sequence on a controller.
Since then, rhythm games have changed: “Rock Band 4” harnesses the power of a digital jukebox to get groups of people together; “Guitar Hero Live” replicates the feeling of being an MTV junkie; Audiosurf feels like a nod to the computer age’s ability to let us listen to any song, anywhere, any time. A remake of a game like Amplitude couldn’t be more behind the times. People may still want to get high scores and get better at rhythm games, but that aspect has taken a backseat to simply enjoying the music the games offer in new ways.
And yet, the new remake/sequel to that game, also called Amplitude (available January 5 on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3) works just well enough that you will enjoy seeing the ghost of rhythm games past, and it may reignite you to try a song again and again just to get the external validation of seeing three silver bars at the score screen.
Controller incongruities aside, Amplitude works as both a look at what rhythm games used to be and as testbed for some interesting new ideas (even if they don’t all work). It doesn’t offer a new instrument you can pretend to play or change how we think about music games, but it doesn’t have to do any of that. It’s content to give you a solid, lasting sense of satisfaction from pushing buttons in the right order and hearing some good music. Amplitude releases January 5 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3. Will you be picking up this game?
Source News: Venture Beat
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