Review: Frequency (PS2)
Hey boys, Hey girls. Superstar DJs, Here you go. Frequency is the game that links Rez and Tempest with Parappa the Rapper. It's the latest in the sub-genre of rhythm titles that test your timing, reactions and musical ability, but without the need to cover your floor with a big plastic mat. A dance dance revolution? Not when you skid skid into the sofa. Frequency is much safer.
Not much has been made of the arrival of Frequency, which is a shame considering the critical acclaim that has rightly been thrust upon Sega's Rez, but with the sequel to Parappa not setting the PS2 sales chart alight you can see why SCEE haven't been pushing the boat out for this title.
In many reviews, the state of the gaming industry is despaired at. Too many football games, platform games, stunt games, bad license games and sequels are released, year on year. The counter point is that original games don't sell. For games as good as Rez and Frequency, this shouldn't be the case, but Frequency has one advantage over the former. Many people who I've showed Mizaguchi's masterpiece to are baffled by its unique look, whereas Frequency looks like Tempest, with a tunnel of sound.
On the walls of the tunnel lie musical bars with the rhythm required marked out on the bar. To complete the bar, press the corresponding buttons to left, right and centre correctly for two bars with the right timing for the sound to continue for the remainder of the segment. Once you activate a sound, move to the next bar and match the rhythm again. The tunnel contains 'doors' that reset the bars when you pass through, adding new sounds to evolve the tune further.
Although you are rewarded by new sounds you are sanctioned for not completing a bar by the shame of silence or a quiet tambourine beat, Parappa style. The difference is that the rhythm reappears on the bar until the next tunnel resets the tune, but this does mean that you won't necessarily complete the other sounds in time. If you do have any surplus time, then you can move to the freestyle bar and add some
turntabalist scratches for bonus points.
Frequency is well structured: on normal mode you get 4-5 tunes on a stage with a bonus track if you attain a certain score on that stage. For the Advanced and Expert modes you have more tunes to try, lots of tunes. While Rez is a homage to trance, Frequency is about having fun with a range of artists from one of the world's biggest music publishers (i.e. Sony Music), so amongst the jukebox are the big beats of the Dub Pistols and the Lo-Fi All-stars, the nu-ska whinging from No Doubt, turntabalism from DJ Q*Bert, trance from Paul Oakenfold, industrial rock from Fear Factory and techno from dance legends Orbital. Having a range of styles of music gives a sense of variation, its not just about beefy basslines and drum loops, but vocals, guitars and other noises.
To play the game best, you'd be advised to keep a drumbeat going with makes things feel easier. Getting all the bars going is made trickier because you have to start the bar at a specific point, and you can't see that point unless you're on the same portion of the tunnel. There is little space between the end of one bar and the beginning of another, so when you move you have to be quick to catch the first sound or have to wait for the sequence to come up again. Obviously learning the tune and where the power ups (auto-capture, points) are is part of the skill in beating the game.
Aside from the main game is the remix mode, where you can release yo’ fly skills on the tracks you've opened, and then play them back or use them in the game. It's an excellent feature although the rewards are greater if you're a fan of one of the bands. The remixes that you create can be played in the main game, but if you want to casually play about with a track without having to get Codemasters' Music then this is the opportunity.
Visually, frequency is nothing special aside from a well-chosen futuristic look that uses imaginative psychedelic patterns behind the tunnel to give off some colour. When you play, you don't really notice them because you're caught up in the rhythm, but after the finishing post you can notice the huge amount that's going on there. The multiplayer mode is very good- you and a friend challenge for the highest score through a vertical split screen. You can't match a bar if the other person is already on it, but there are more power-ups to disrupt your mate’s play.
Frequency is great, and is the best rhythm action game on PS2. Yes, even better than Britney's Dance Beat. Go and buy it now and get lo-down dirty and freqy.
Rating: 8 / 10
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