Amplitude (PS3/PS4) | The PS2 rhythm game classic returns

[#AR]

 

Alright, so what is Amplitude?
Amplitude is an upcoming game coming to PlayStation consoles based off of the critically acclaimed PS2 classic.
 

 
This rhythm game has you playing on different tracks (drums, bass, synth, guitar), and after you play enough on one track, you have to switch to another to keep the full song going. You also get a couple opportunities to remix the song a little! It's a bit hard to put it into words, so here's an example:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezXUhqlpKbw
 
The old game, while receiving rave reviews from fans and critics, didn't do so hot financially.
Harmonix, the creators of Amplitude and Rock Band, decided to give this game another go and shoot for a revival on Kickstarter. There, they were faced with a serious challenge: to raise 775,000 dollars in only 18 days...Hope seemed lost, until the Kickstarter received a massive boost in pledges. Less than a day left, the project hit its goal. Talk about a comeback.
 
Now, since this is a rhythm game, let's talk about the music.
Here are some of the artists confirmed to appear:

• Anamanaguchi (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) 
• C418 (Minecraft)
• Danny Baranowsky (Super Meat Boy, Canabalt)
• Freezepop (FreQuency, Amplitude)
• Jim Guthrie (Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP)
• Kasson Crooker (FreQuency, Amplitude, Symbion Project)
• George & Jonathan

And most recently: Music from Skullgirls has been confirmed to appear in the game!

Pretty neat huh?

 

Yeah. If you like rhythm games, then I'd definitely recommend that you keep your eye on this one.

[Sami]

Feels good to have helped make this reach it's goal. Can't wait to see more!

[PSI Wind]

Music from Skullgirls you say? Guess I could pick this up on the PS3.

[Chaos Warp]

Is there going to be a possibility to import and makes tracks for your own songs? That would be sweet. 

[Blacklightning]

I doubt they'd need relatively big name talent like Anamanaguchi and C418 to begin with if they could just pull an Audiosurf and make the game improvise everything on the fly. That's not to say it rules out the possibility of designing the button presses by hand, but judging from gameplay of the original it looks as though you'd have to layer several separate audio files to a single track, which is a hell of a lot more effort than slapping an MP3 onto it and calling it a day.

 

It should be noted that licensed music is far more expensive and difficult to secure and to work into a natural gameplay flow than it may appear on the surface. That said, we do have a lot of experience in this area (shout out to Rock Band, Dance Central and Fantasia!) but our core emphasis is on creating an addictive musical gameplay in this title.

[Cyalume]

Was wondering why there was no topic on this yet. We made it! That alone is pretty awesome. But that stretch goal for synchronous multiplayer is agonizingly out of reach, and almost laughable. They really need to open a separate kickstarter for that portion of the game, akin to how Skullgirls opened a separate IndieGoGo for Squigly, Big Band, and the other upcoming DLC characters for that game.

[Marcello]

I've only played the demo that came with an issue OPSM of the original game. I remember really liking it, but never buying it, so I might eventually get this.

[Sami]

I've only played the demo that came with an issue OPSM of the original game. I remember really liking it, but never buying it, so I might eventually get this.

 

Apart from that demo, I don't think I've ever actually owned a Harmonix game lol. Loooooved the demo when I was a kid though, and Harmonix's pedigree pushed me to back it.

[Cyalume]

For those who haven't played the full game, an example of how intense things can get: This is Spaztik, the final song of the original game.

It doesn't look like much, but actually hammering out all those notes and switching from track to track can get pretty ridiculous.

[Dobkeratops]

Good for them. After Microsoft's desperate Kinect removal fucked up any legs their latest game could've had this must've been a very welcome development at the studio.

 

I'm in. Can we get a Gitaroo Man PS4 kickstarter next?