Part of Nintendo Touch Generations’ Games (games that are made for people who usually don’t play videogames), Elite Beat Agent is a rhythm game that appeals to both casual and hardcore players alike.
Story
The spiritual successor to the Japanese original (Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan), Elite Beat Agents received an American makeover to cater more to American tastes. The main characters are three government agents whose job is to help people. Everytime someone cries for help, the Elite Beat Agents will rush to them. To help, these three agents must dance to different tunes to encoruage the helpees overcome their dire situations.
The story is seperated into 18 independent stages (3 of which are hidden). Each stage has its very own stand-alone story (with the exception to the last stage). Each of the story is told through a comic-like presentation. They are very wacky yet addictive to play through. The story is the best reason to play Elite Beat Agents.
Graphics
Not much can be said about the graphics as much of the game as almost all of the game is done with artwork with some animation (only the three agents are rendered during gameplay). The artwork looks great but it is also very generic.
Sound
As a rhythm game, Elite Beat Agents
is all about the music (make sure you use headphones as the DS speakers aren’t very good). Each of the 18 independent stages has their very own music (with the exception to the final stage, which has two) that corresponds surprising well with the quirky story.
Elite Beat Agents’ track list includes a diverse collection of hits from today and the past.
All of the songs are cover versions of the original. These Songs include:
Walkie Talkie Man
Makes No Difference
Sk8er Boi
I Was Born to Love You
Rock This Town
Highway Star
Y.M.C.A
September
Canned Heat
Material Girl
La La
You’re The Inspiration
Let’s Dance
The Anthem
Without A Fight
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Believe
A-B-C
Survivor
With such a diverse selection of songs, players will be guaranteed that they will play through a song that they hate. For me personally, I was disappointed with the lack of R&B songs.
Gameplay
Elite Beat Agents takes full of the touch screen. Gameplay composes of three elements: hit marker, phrase marker and spin marker. For hit markers, players have to tap a circle spot on the screen at just the right time. Players do the same for phrase markers except they have to tap and hold the markers and then follow it along a path. Spin markers simply requires player to draw circles rapidly to fill up the spin meter.
Successes and failures are determined by the Elite-o-meter. The Elite-o-meter slow falls and players must successful hit all the markers to keep it up. Each stage usually has three parts; as long players keep the meter in green they will get a good cut scene. If it’s red, players will get a bad cut scene. As long as players keep the meter green at the end of the stage, they will beat it.
Gameplay is simple yet addicting. Players would want to improve on their score over and over again. With different modes including difficulty and multiplayer levels, Elite Beat Agents has a very high replay value.
The game is without some imperfections, however. Players’ hands will obstruct the part of the screen; as a result, blind spots are present. Although it doesn’t affect the overall enjoyment, it is a minor annoyance that makes the game a little bit more difficult.
Overall
Elite Beat Agents may not be a classic, but its unique and addicting features make it an experience no Nintendo DS owner can be without.
