Frequency and Amplitude just gangraped my anushole

[James]

I bought the game for $10 at Toys R Us on a whim. I played it on Mellow difficulty, and decided the game was awesome. It is. Great music, simple controls perfect for a rhythm game, excellent presentation. This is totally worth $10.

Then I beat Mellow, and moved onto Normal. Things started to get a little rocky halfway through the game, but I kicked ass. Then the game kicked back, on the last stage. Two songs, then a boss song, and a bonus song. The first song kicked my ass, but I beat it. The second song? Holy mother of God fingers CAN'T move that fast, game!

And this is NORMAL difficulty. There are three other difficulty levels after this. It's fucking crazy.

Someone please tell me they've played this or Frequency, and feel my pain.

[Chojin]

I've played frequency and love it. We're friends with the music director of Harmonix and the music selections for Amplitude were largely decided by Sony execs and Harmonix's board - AKA HAY WHAT DO THESE KIDS LIKE THESE DAYS POP HUH LET'S SIGN A BUNCH OF PEOPLE AND PUT THEM IN OUR GAME CAUSE IF ALL THEIR FANS PLAY WE'LL BE RICH I MEAN IF YOU GET $1 FOR EVERY PERSON IN CHINA YOU'RE A BILLIONAIRE AM I RIGHT HOW EASY IS THIS WE CAN JUST PRINT MONEY!

Music gamers are not pop fans in general and pop fans SURE AS FUCK aren't generally gamers, let alone niche music gamers, so they flopped and have had their funding refused for a 3rd game. It's a shame because music gaming in this format is a fantastic idea. At least Harmonix found an outlet in Guitar Hero for their game developing ability.

[Schimid]

I played this and Frequency...Frequency is a little bit harder, I think. You have the luxury of being able to go around the octagon instead of going all the way back across the highway, but that's about the only thing that makes it easier.

It took me about three months to be able to do absolutely everything on both games, which is kinda weird because it's been taking me about three days with Guitar Hero.

Wait until you hit Insane. Do Cherry Lips first, it's not as bad as the others :(

[James]

I dunno, the game didn't seem overly saturated with pop music. Sure, there were things like Weezer and Blink 182, but there was also a lot of stuff that was VERY fitting for a game of this type. And then there was Slipknot.

I didn't know they did Guitar Hero. Everyone I know raves about that game, so I may have to buy it after all. But I still kinda hope I can be awesome at Amplitude. :/

The damn things just come at you too fast for my brain to even register them all, and then have to react fast enough. The last two songs of the last world were the only times I ever LOST. But I'll try the game again today.

Also, DJ HMX is hot.

[DeadKennedys]

I like frequency, and I have amplitude but haven't gotten around to playing it. David Bowie likes it so it must be good...

[James]

I beat Normal, and moved onto Brutal. And the name fits. For the most part, I'm beating songs, but I've gotten to the point where I don't have enough points to unlock the bonus songs. The second or third world, you need 4000 points (average 1000 per song), and I only had like 2400. I've been playing songs over and over, and I finally got a total of 4300. The bonus song? Fucking impossible.

And SOME of these strings are literally impossible. I swear they are only there to break up your combos or have you use a powerup if you have one. There's no way someone can actually complete some of these lines.

[DeadKennedys]

I'm stuck on that damn Mekon song on Brutal mode, Jesus Christ.

[Schimid]

I think the only impossible lines are in the final song, and I think there are two of them. Maybe there's one in Robot Rockerz but I can't remember.

You'll be able to pick them up and look back on them in about a month and wonder why you were so stuck.

[DeadKennedys]

Yeah, I picked it up a week later and now I'm stuck on Manchild or something stupid.

[James]

I think the only impossible lines are in the final song, and I think there are two of them. Maybe there's one in Robot Rockerz but I can't remember.

You'll be able to pick them up and look back on them in about a month and wonder why you were so stuck.

Well, my brain needs to receive the images to see what notes are coming up that I need to hit. Then I need to be able to hit them at the right time with my fingers. The screen-brain-finger response line is slower than the game's speed, so I can't do it. Also, when you need to press the same button over and over for a long stretch, I end up losing the rhythm. :(

I just bought Frequency, and this seems a bit harder. The whole "tube" and graphical layout makes it hard for me to see where to continue combos. Also, I'm now starting to get suck at this, halfway through Normal.


I suppose it doesn't help that I use the face buttons instead of the shoulders, but I've tried with the shoulders, and I fuck up a LOT. At least with the face buttons, I have a better feel of left, center, right. I keep mixing up the two right shoulder buttons. :(

[Schimid]

That's exactly your problem. The more you rely on the face buttons, the harder it'll be to advance. It took me about a month to convert from face to shoulder, but now I can pass every song on any difficulty. Sorry to say, it's almost impossible to beat it otherwise :(

[James]

I've gotten used to using the shoulder buttons now. :)

I beat Easy and Normal modes in Frequency, but Expert is just horrid.

I've gotten through Stage 1, but with nowhere near the points required to get the bonus song. 4000 total, which means 1000 points per song. Meanwhile, I only have an average score of 600, and it is NOT going higher.

And now I'm stuck on the Orbital song on Stage 2, because I can't keep the timing. I'd swear I was doing a line perfectly, but I'm off by a split-second and oh fuck everything's down the drain.

One thing I've noticed with Frequency, is it's a LOT harder to keep combos going. You essentially have to have the songs memorized so you know what notes to hit right away when moving to another line. Amplitude is a little more lenient on this.

So i may have to call it quits with Frequency. Amplitude may still be an option.