Amplitude Reboot Announced for PlayStation 3 & PlayStation 4

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FreddY
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Amplitude Reboot Announced for PlayStation 3 & PlayStation 4

Post by FreddY »

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[i][b]VG247.com: Amplitude revealed for PS3 & PS4, Kickstarter successor funding now[/b][/i] wrote:In a series of emails to VG247, Harmonix explained that that Amplitude for PS3 and PS4 runs on a propitiatory engine that displays at 60 frames per second.

Harmonix confirmed that the Beat Blaster ship will return, and can be steered by players to shoot down notes as they cascade towards them, just like in the original Amplitude. The world itself will react to the studio's home-grown music as you progress, with a track list that's being created to offer a range of challenging stages.

Speaking with VG247 over email, John Drake, Director of Communication and Brand Management at Harmonix told me, "We approached the team at Sony about our desire to bring Amplitude to the fans via Kickstarter and they've been nothing but supportive.

"Frequency and Amplitude were born on PlayStation hardware and were specifically made for Sony, so bringing the game to PS3 and PS4 is a natural fit. It's early days, but we're excited about the chance to make an experience for PS4 - it's an awesome platform with great dev support."

He added that while licensed music isn't planned for Amplitude, it's not entirely off the table if it fits the game. The team is striving to create an original score in-house to make for tense gameplay, rather than wrap its mechanics around pre-existing tracks.

"Our core focus is to deliver amazing gameplay with music that's built for fun - but if the fans get behind the Kickstarter and if we can find the right songs, we'd absolutely consider licensed music for the base game or for ongoing downloadable content," he explained.

"We want to make sure we make a game that anyone can learn and get into, but for it to be Amplitude it has to have the hallmark difficulty that lulls you into that trance-like state when the tracks get going. That and it has to feel tight."

It's not going to be rammed full of gameplay mechanics either, as Drake stressed that Harmonix wants this to be a pure Amplitude experience that captures the purity of the original. That said, the Kickstarter feedback could tip the studio's hand if the community makes a convincing-enough argument.

"Harmonix games are always at their best when we find a set of core mechanics and focus on perfecting them," Drake concluded. "It isn't so much about throwing away other good ideas as it is identifying the best ideas early and refining them until they're perfect.

"Depending on the scope of the project (which depends on the funding levels and the team size), we have some other crazy ideas that might creep in... but keeping it as 'a pure beatmatch experience' means we have a game we know we can deliver at the quality bar fans of Harmonix have come to expect."

He also teased that a PS Vita build could be on the cards if the Kickstarter is popular enough, and if it feels right.

"In the years since Amplitude, Harmonix developers have become masters at making rhythm games fun for everybody. While we're focused on designing this project to appeal to a "hardcore" base, we intend for fans of more recent Harmonix products to feel right at home with this new game as well, if they're willing to put in the practice and hone their skills!"

"The current goal is to make a faithful Amplitude "HD" - the core experience from PS2® re-developed for modern gaming devices. We certainly have LOTS of crazy ideas that could blow this concept out. Your contribution, feedback, and community input will decide where this project will land and how many crazy ideas we can incorporate!"
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