Rock Band series developer Harmonix taps into its back catalog with a PlayStation 4 remake of its classic rhythm game Amplitude that launches digitally in January, the studio announced this week.
A reboot of a 2003 PlayStation 2 game, Amplitude challenges players to perform, mix, and layer rhythmic elements atop backing music tracks throughout an included single-player campaign and multiplayer modes.
Harmonix turned to Kickstarter to drum up fan support for an Amplitude follow-up in 2014, earning over $844,000 in backer pledges. Supporters who kicked in $40 or more toward the project will get to play the final results two weeks in advance of Amplitude‘s public release in 2016.
Amplitude includes 31 playable songs from veteran composers like Darren Korb (Transistor), C418 (Minecraft), Jim Guthrie (Sword & Sworcery), Danny Baranowsky (Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac), and a group of musicians from Ratchet & Clank series developer Insomniac Games. Also included are a selection of tracks from Harmonix’s in-house composers and a single from the synth-pop band Freezepop.
Amplitude‘s single-player campaign represents “a sci-fi concept album with a narrative that surfaces through the game’s visuals, music, and lyrics,” according to Harmonix. Players advance through each of the game’s 31 tracks by hitting a required quota of beat-driven musical cues in order to maintain speed and momentum throughout.
New to the PS4 version of Amplitude are a collection of unique local multiplayer modes, letting up to four players collectively compose electronic music either cooperatively or competitively for high scores and leaderboard bragging rights. Amplitude‘s competitive element supports up to four players at once, ensuring a chaotic battle for rhythm supremacy.
Amplitude launches digitally via the PlayStation Network on January 5th, and will be priced at $20. Early access backers will get to download and play prerelease copies of Amplitude starting on December 23rd.
