The graphics in Frequency can best be summed up as 'eye-candy'. Special effects are heavily used, and the 'arenas' are unique and quite cool-looking. There's also cool little features such as your own 'Freq', or customizable 'character' symbol. Design you own persona or choose from several funny ones that come with the game and then the image is incorporated throughout the arenas... The sound, however, is the main focus of the game. By strategic and accurate activation of the correct buttons, you 'play' the different parts of the songs. The songs in Frequency, unlike those found in some other rhythm games, are actually played by bands you're likely to have heard from, such as: The Crystal Method, No Doubt, DJ Q-Bert, Orbital, BT, Paul Oakenfold, Fear Factory, Jungle Bros., Lo Fidelity All Stars, Powerman 5000, Meat Beat Manifesto, Freezerpop, Curve, Akrobatik, Symbion Project and Roni Size. There should be something for anyone who's into rhythm games in that lineup!

Do you like rhythm games? Answer that question and you have the answer to, 'Should I buy Frequency?'. If you don't like rhythm games at ALL, then you should probably stop reading this review right now. Frequency IS a rhythm game - and there's not much getting around that. However - if you like them even a little bit, then you should go grab Frequency immediately. It's that good! You've got your Single Player mode, your Multi-Player mode (with up to 4 players), the normal 'Game' mode, and a 'Remix' mode that allows you to 'freestyle' an entire remix of a song and then store it for playback later... you can load your own stored remixes and use them in the GAME mode!!! This game is ALL about the gameplay!!!

Well, let's see... Again, if you don't like this genre due to the difficulty of managing the hand-eye coordination and timing accuracy of it all, you might not like Frequency. However, all you have to keep track of is three buttons (Square, Triangle and Circle) to activate the music, and Left and Right on the D-pad to select a new track to attempt. (There's more to it for advanced users, but that's enough to get you started.) Also, in the 'Easy' difficulty setting, the timing accuracy is reasonably loose. If you hit the correct button pretty close to the correct time, you'll generally get credit for it. As you move up to 'Normal' and 'Expert' levels, however, the complexity of the tracks increases and the required timing accuracy reduces to a much more precise window. Why try for the higher difficulty ratings? There are two entire levels (five songs each) that are not available in 'Easy' mode. The 4th level requires you reach it in at least 'Normal' mode, and the 5th level is only accessible in 'Expert' mode. Oh, and the fifth song on each level is 'locked' until you achieve a certain combined score in the other four songs on that level...

So - what if you're not ready for 'Easy' mode? Well, there's a 'Tutorial' section that will help you out, as well as a 'Remix' mode. In Frequency's 'Remix' mode, you have the ability to remix songs 'freestyle'. You can make whatever sort of patterns you like, without worrying about matching an existant pattern. Want an easier than 'Easy' level to practice on? Make your own! Go into 'Remix' mode and make a really simple remix of the song and save it - then go into the 'Game' mode (on 'Easy' setting) and load your remix in the 'Custom' option at the song selection area. Now you can try to match your OWN remix! (P.S. - This also works equally well for people who want to try some really CHALLENGING mixes - or want to challenge others to try their mixes...)

You've got excellent music, beautiful graphics, highly customizable gameplay, unlockable levels, unlockable songs, unlockable 'arenas'... These all go together to make an excellent game. I showed this game off to some friends at a IGDA chapter meeting and (at least) two people picked it up the very next day. It's an excellent example of the genre and belongs in the library of any gamer who enjoys rhythm -based games. 'Nuff said!