New Amplitude now out for backers

So this is out early for backers ahead of it's Jan 5th normal release date.

I've played through the Campaign on "intermediate" (normal) and had a good time with it, though the controls took some getting used to (there are several control schemes, but no full button re-mapping). Since I was mostly 100% stuff on normal, I bumped it up one (advanced) and it definitely got WAY harder, though in some ways that feel kind of cheap. My biggest issue is that when switching between lanes, you'll sometimes end up in a position where you immediately need to hit a note but have no idea which one. The way the track bends will often obscure the other lanes so you can't see a) if they even HAVE notes to hit and b) which notes they are. I think this is by design, but it seems like kind of crappy thing.

The soundtrack is cool though. The Crypt of the Necrodancer track (w/ shopkeeper) is super rad. I'll answer any questions I'm able to.

Edit: I guess it might also be worth noting I never played the original.

It's worth noting the Early Access is only for Backers at the $40 tier or higher.

I'm excited to get my key for it next week though. I never played the original Amplitude, but I loved Blitz and the PSP Rock Band which both have similar core ideas behind them.

What a weird time of year to release a game.

I played and finished both Amplitude and Frequency on all the difficulties, and your description seems to be pretty in line with how those games were. Your description actually sounds more like Frequency, which I'm personally excited about since that was in my opinion, a better game.

I wish I would have been able to back this early but I'm glad I don't have to wait much longer. More than anything I've been dying of curiousity for almost two years just to see what this thing even is.

I'm curious about the game, as someone who played a lot of the original Amplitude. The lack of more popular/mainstream/identifiable artists is what has me hesitant. How is the music in that respect?

Have they said anywhere how much the game will be to purchase if you didn't back it?

I am so psyched for this game - backed it within minutes of it coming out.

Played the original FreQuency and Amplitude to death when they came out on the PS2 and loved both of them. I'm just praying that the dualshock 4's R2 trigger will be as accurate the dualshock 2's R2 button when playing.

L1, R1, R2 for life.

@mightyduck:I liked it, but would say it's kind of... indistinct? Most of it just kind of sounds like "This is electronic music! (of some kind)", though maybe that's on me. "Break for Me" has been the biggest stand out for me so far. A bunch of the non-campaign songs are done by other video game composers and stuff, and I haven't unlocked a bunch of those yet so they might be the most varied. Like I said before, the Crypt of the Necrodancer track is awesome.

@ajamafalous: $20, apparently.

@samuelrgreen: Maybe I should give that scheme a shot, since it's what it defaults too. I switched to L1/Square/R1 which was close to, but not exactly, what I wanted (L1/Triangle/R1) and I keep confusing buttons a lot. Part of me would almost want to get a Square/Triangle/R1 set and try and play it with an arcade stick, but I don't know if that's possible.

@youeightit: They actually recently announced a "FreQ" mode which unlocks when you beat the campaign. I haven't tried it yet, but my understanding is that it turns the game into a "FreQuency-like" tunnel.

Oh, it also has a pretty good lag adjustment mechanic. It's just a moving bar/audio cue you adjust to, but I've never felt like lag is why I'm missing notes which is basically the best thing I could say about it.

So I moved over to using a HORI FIGHTING COMMANDER 4!!!

Because the R2 is a trigger on the DS4 it makes playing on expert terrible but this controller made for fighting games is perfect as there's no triggers on the controller. You can find them at Frys or gamestops for about $35 bucks.

Also I really liked the game and put a review about it up. It's really good.