Review tylerisrandom 3/5 · Jul 3, 2021
Echoes
I have fond memories of the original 2003 Amplitude. I remember thinking it was so cool that my performance influenced individual tracks of the recording: It felt like a peek behind the curtain of music production.
This 2016 revival is fine.
The gameplay is still fun, though it feels very simple after nearly two decades of Guitar Heroes and Rock …
I have fond memories of the original 2003 Amplitude. I remember thinking it was so cool that my performance influenced individual tracks of the recording: It felt like a peek behind the curtain of music production.
This 2016 revival is fine.
The gameplay is still fun, though it feels very simple after nearly two decades of Guitar Heroes and Rock Bands and other rhythm titles.
The visuals feel like an artifact of the early 2000s. They're competently executed, but they remind me a bit of those "Beyond the Mind's Eye" computer animation showcase movies they'd use to sell early DVD players.
The music was the biggest let-down for me. Licensed music has grown ever more prohibitively expensive since 2003, so they composed a unique concept album instead. That's a great idea, but the results are forgettable to me. It lacks the spontaneous "ghost in the machine" feel of Rez or the purposeful catchy-ness of Sayonara Wild Hearts. It's not bad, but I wouldn't listen to it elsewhere. And it's a lot less fun or surprising than the eclectic pop mix of the 2003 game.
If you really enjoy Amplitude's gameplay, this is a fair way to revisit it for an hour or so. It's also kind of novel that this game is playable across three generations of PlayStation console. But I prefer the original.
