Posted Mon May 5, 2014 at 10:19 AM PDT by Brian Hoss
New 'Amplitude' up on Kickstarter.
Harmonix, the developers behind both 'Guitar Hero' and 'Rock Band' are bringing back their preliminary rhythm game triumph, 'Amplitude.' Both the original 'Frequency' and its sequel 'Amplitude' were published by Sony for the PS2 were true rhythm titles, where players controlled a Beat Blaster Ship in order to activate different musical tracks and achieve songs. 'Amplitude' went on to become one of the PS2's first online titles, as well as the basis, along with plastic instruments, for the entire rhythm game craze.
Now it seems, Harmonix is ready to resurrect the 'Amplitude' formula for the PS3 and PS4 and the company has launched a Kickstarter page to get the project funded. The project is being described more as an upgraded game than as a sequel.
"With the advancements in technology and the huge creative leaps forward our studio has taken, we believe we can rebuild Amplitude for current consoles and make it an even more amazing experience than before. We're aiming to deliver an updated soundtrack, incredible visuals, and fine-tuned controls. These improvements will be layered on top of the core mechanics and hallmark difficulty that made both FreQuency and Amplitude such amazing experiences when they first debuted. We’re confident that we can make a game that will do its predecessors justice!"
"During Rock Band, we perfected our methodology for “beatmatching”, which we intend to apply to this new title. We’ll also be moving the game into the new proprietary engine Harmonix has developed over the past 10 years. In addition to better control over timing windows, this will also allow us to run at 60 frames per second and smoothly port the existing mechanics to PS3 and PS4."
"The game, as designed for this Kickstarter, focuses on the core Amplitude experience. Single player and local multiplayer are included in the design, as are leaderboards for online bragging rights. The Beat Blaster (the ship), music notes, tracks and FX will all be modernized and gorgeous. The cyberworld around the tracks will be designed by artists and crafted by coders so that every pixel on screen can be driven by the underlying music. Even as we work through our plans for this Kickstarter, the game is beginning to take shape – an HD reinvisioning of the cult classic, smartly updated for today on every axis. We believe this is the game that fans of Amplitude have been asking for and a game that can only come from Harmonix."
Source: Harmonix
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
The latest news on all things 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and Gear.