Frequency

The gaming industry is definitely changing. Five years ago, no one would release a music game outside of Japan. Sony wouldn't bring its quirky music game Vib Ribbon to the States, but in its place comes a unique music title developed specifically for American gamers -- Frequency.

Frequency comes packed with 25 songs, which is more than triple the number of tunes included in both Parappa the Rapper and UmJammer Lammy. Granted, Parappa's songs were written exclusively for that game and featured some of the greatest lyrics ever heard in a video game (who could ever forget, "Kick, punch, it's all in the might"?). But that's beside the point. In Parappa the Rapper, all you had to worry about was rapping along with the music. In UmJammer Lammy, the only instrument you had to play was the guitar. But in Frequency, you have to play each and every instrument or sound effect present in the song!

The instruments are played by hitting the notes of the corresponding buttons as they scroll across the screen (similar in style to Guitar Freaks). There are three separate notes that must be played by hitting the square, triangle and circle buttons. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, it probably would be, except that each instrument must be played individually. Each side of the octagon represents a different instrument/sound -- bass, drum, guitar, vocals, etc. Only the sides that have notes must be played, giving beginners a slightly better chance at winning. But even when only three or four instruments are available, the game is still very challenging.

Winning is as easy as staying alive. Wait a minute, did I say easy? Staying alive is only easy for the first few stages. Then it's anything but easy. Your energy meter drops every time you miss a note. It'll drop if you skip a section of notes, too. Luckily, it isn't too difficult to raise the energy meter again. If you have an Auto-catcher power-up (which will automatically activate the instrument), use it on the instrument that is the hardest for you to play. Then quickly shift to the instrument that is easiest for you to play and hit every note until the bar is activated. Once an instrument has been activated, it will play for the rest of that part of the song. If you succeed in doing that, you should be on your way to beating the level in no time.

Frequency is almost more difficult to play for gamers like myself who have some rhythm. I'm always trying to anticipate what the next sound will be, instead of just following the note pattern on the screen. No Doubt's "Ex-Girlfriend" is one of the easiest songs in the game, but I had a harder time racking up points during that song than I did most of the others. That's because I know that song very well, and while the screen is telling me one thing, my brain is telling me another. Beating the song isn't hard, but I am never able to score big unless I "zone out." I'm not exactly sure if that's what is happening or not, but it feels like my mind enters another dimension. When I zone out, all of the distractions around me seem to disappear. The Dual-Shock 2 is no longer a controller, but rather a digitally-enhanced instrument, one that I barely notice is there. It doesn't matter what happens on the screen, because my thumb is somehow manage to hit every note without failure.

That right there is how I always screw up. As soon as I realize just how good I'm doing, my concentration is broken and I mess up. And that is Frequency's biggest problem. Even on easy mode, if you miss one note, the chain is broken and no points are earned. You'll usually end up wasting more time trying to create a solid chain of bass and guitar music, then finally decide to move onto something else, only to realize that it is too late to make up for all of the potential points you've lost.

Furthermore, the pace of the song is confusing. If you recognize the song, you'll likely press the buttons too soon or too late because that's what your brain is telling you to do. And if you don't know any of the songs, chances are you will still get confused at some point in the game.

The changing pace from song to song will likely throw most people off. It threw me off quite a few times, that's for sure. You get so used to playing at a certain speed that any increase or decrease in the BPM (beats per minute) will cause a problem. But once again, that may be my own fault. I assume that gamers who don't have any rhythm will actually play better than those who do because they'll be less concerned with following the music than they are with following the beats scrolling across the screen.

It's strange that Frequency was developed for an American audience, most of whom have never played a music game before. Yet the difficulty is higher than most of the music games released in Japan. In its defense, Frequency is the best frustrating game I have ever played. I usually grow tired with games that are seemingly impossible to master, but Frequency kept me coming back for more. All gamers will enjoy Frequency, but only music fanatics will get the most out of it.

Gameplay: 9
Frequency is the kind of game that I wanted Guitar Freaks to be. It combines the complexity and fun of Konami's music games, with music from talented artists (No Doubt, Orbital, etc.).

Graphics: 6 
The graphics are simplistic, but the surreal 3D effects are very cool. The problem is, they're very distracting. You can't look at the backgrounds and play Frequency at the same time, since your eyes must always be concentrating on the notes and nothing but the notes. Then again, maybe that's the challenge -- to overcome the flashy backgrounds! On the bright side, you can choose to play without any backgrounds.

Sound: 7
You'd think that a music game as good as Frequency would have a great soundtrack. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. Most of the techno songs are good, but the annoying vocals drive them into the ground.

Difficulty: 9.5
And the award for most difficult game of the year goes to... I honestly don't know why they bothered to include a tutorial mode. Only the most basic actions are explained, most of which aren't explained very well. I swear, if the tutorial had told me to "consult your manual" one more time, I was going to throw the game out the window. Obviously I didn't even need to play the tutorial mode since I was forced to read the manual anyway.

Concept: 8.5 
It was a long time in coming, but finally someone developed a music game for the masses. The play mechanics aren't as revolutionary as they are evolutionary, but Frequency is still one of the best and most unique music games ever made.

Multiplayer: 8.5
Frequency is the first true multiplayer music game. The online features are mysteriously absent (perhaps they'll be available once Sony's network launches next year?), but the two and four-player mode are awesome.

Overall: 9
Frequency is one of the most frustrating games I have ever played...but is also one of the most entertaining. If you don't have any patience, Frequency probably isn't for you. However, it is a game worth having patience for. So if you've never been a patient person, but think you could be one if you worked hard enough, don't pass on Frequency. You'll regret it later if you do.