Before it was tapped to lead the charge into that brief and embarrassing plastic instrument era of gaming, Harmonix created a few original PlayStation 2 rhythm games which enjoyed a lot of praise from the few who played them. Frequency and Amplitude were minor hits for the blooming game developer, but their quality led them into the big leagues by being offered work on both Guitar Hero and Rock Band.
Of course, the success found with those games tossed out all hope for further sequels to its cult favorites.
Until today, that is. Through the PlayStation Blog, Harmonix has confirmed that it is working on making a new Amplitude game for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. More importantly, it will be controlled by a DualShock Controller just like the classic hit and not some silly piece of space-hogging plastic.
Amplitude has a fast, arcade-like pace. Players scurry around to blast notes, grab power-ups, and capture successive musical phrases, and can skyrocket their score by never missing a note and streaking for multipliers. Finding the optimal line through the level is the key to mastering the gem patterns and topping the leaderboards. When the game first came out, we watched players spend hours lost “in the zone,” perfecting their playthroughs!
Harmonix isn’t too far off in believing that Amplitude could be a wonderful downloadable title to grace the PlayStation Store. I enjoyed the original back in my college days, and wouldn’t mind seeing it given the HD treatment.
We love this game, and PlayStation fans have asked us for years to revive the franchise. We think that in a post-Rock Band world, a new Amplitude will really blow people away.It smashes together familiar beatmatch mechanics with fast-paced navigation, tactical terrain choices, and an intensity that is totally addictive. With the inclusion of four-player local multiplayer, online leaderboards, and other great improvements, we think we can build something really special for the new generation of PlayStation consoles.
Harmonix has taken to Kickstarter to fund this new Amplitude game and it is asking for a hefty $775,000 to get it done, and with 16 days to go, it has only raised $156,000 (as of drafting this story). The original game is not released as a PlayStation 2 Classic, meaning that funding this game could be the only way to ever enjoy it on a modern day console.
If you’ve never played it before, check out the video below to see what Harmonix has in mind.
