Elite Beat Agents

A DS Gem

Reviewed by Mooman on May 16, 2007  |  report this review

Back in July of 2005, Nintendo released the Inis, the company behind the innovative "Gitaroo-Man," developed "Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan" in Japan. Featuring addictive rhythmic gameplay that has become expected from Inis and a group of dancing male cheerleaders to save the day, the title was met with some quite unexpected success, especially from importers outside of Japan, enough in fact, for Nintendo to set Inis to work on a spiritual successor to "Ouendan," titled "Elite Beat Agents" specifically for gamers outside the land of the rising sun, which was just recently released in North America on November 8th, and is a title not to be missed.

"Elite Beat Agents" shares the same gameplay concept as its Japanese counterpart, which I alluded to earlier. Players rhythmically tap targets in beat to the playing song on the top screen with a group of "agents," which are basically dancing male cheerleaders, in the background. The timing on this in assisted by an enclosed circle. Once the circle is the same size as the target, that is when the player needs to his it. Meanwhile, on the top screen, a story plays out that has something to do with the playing song. The outcome of the story is determined on your success in tapping the targets. Tapping isn't all one does in "Elite Beat Agents," though, players will also have to keep their stylus pen on a ball which is rolling on a set track and spin a disk until a meter completely light up.




The combination of the three gameplay devices the title features are quite easy to comprehend, thus the game's branding under Nintendo's "Touch Generations" lineup, and they really come together, especially in the latter of the four difficulty levels of the game, which will be approached rather quickly due to the overall shortness of the title. One may find themselves beating the first two difficulty levels in a matter of hours. However, the last difficulty levels are indeed difficult. Players will find themselves playing the same stages over and over again, but not once does this get frustrating or monotonous; the gameplay is just so addicting that one will always becoming back for more, which eventually transforms itself into ultimately the most difficult part of "Elite Beat Agents": putting it down.



If for some odd reason the single player just isn't enough for the player, "Elite Beat Agents" features a handful of multiplayer features including a versus mode that only requires a single card (though to get the full experience, everyone will need their own copy) and a cooperative mode, which requires each player to have their own copy of the title (and to be honest, everyone should)



Unfortunately, there is no perfect game, and "Elite Beat Agents" is no exception. The game's shortness, which I mentioned earlier, is due to the game's 19 songs, most of which are quite unpopular, but the title does feature some hits such as "YMCA" and "Material Girl." It would have been nicer to see (

For the rhythmically challenged

Hint by ashlery on October 07, 2007  |  report this hint

Sing along to the song! It helps you hit all the beats, plus it makes it more fun. It took me lots of practice to keep up on some of the faster songs, but it was worth it to unlock everything.