Elite Beat Agents (Nintendo DS, 2006)

Alright. EBA is pretty simple on the surface. You have different songs, ranging from different styles of pop and rock. For each one, numbered bubbles pop up on the screen, and you must tap those bubbles with the stylus in time. That's it-that's the game, tapping where the game tells you when you're supposed to.

So... why is it so addictive?

The entire game oozes with a sheer exuberance that makes even the simplest action feel larger than life. The Elite Beat Agents themselves are some sort of super-secret Men in Black organization who deploy whenever someone screams for help. The agents arrive and, through the power of dance and music, help whoever needed it to accomplish what they're doing, from finding treasure to making an award-winning film.

The game doesn't take itself seriously at all. Every mission is preceded by an amusing comic-book style intro that details exactly what sort of mess the person has gotten themselves into. During the mission, your performance is "rated" by means of small cutscenes that depict the person succeeding or failing, often giving the player a good chuckle in addition to giving them a short break between segments of a song. Everything, from the stock scenes of the Commander giving the "Go" signal to the Agents to the "filler" animations that play on the top screen while the player's concentration is fixated on the bottom screen, is completely full of a unique, anime-influenced style that is strangely compelling.

If you like rhythm games, like Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution, this might be for you-it has less of a physical aspect than either of those games, but the core rhythm-based gameplay remains intact, and Elite Beat Agents is cheaper than either of those examples by several times its value, as well! If you absolutely hate games like that, or if the merest hint of anything Japanese puts you off (Elite Beat Agents is based on a Japan-only game called Ouendan, and the heritage shows, especially in the heavy anime influence), then you probably shouldn't look here. But if a fun, quirky game that drips with its own strange hotblooded form of style is up your alley, then find a copy and start bidding, now, because EBA is a bargain.

Honestly, I'm not much of a fan of the recent slew of rhythm games like guitar hero and rock band that have saturated the gaming market lately, but I have to say that this game rises above and beyond the indistinguishable mass of such games. It's great and is very unique.

The game takes place in a world full of troubles. You represent the Elite Beat Agents, a select group of dancing experts that come to the rescue in times of need. At the legendary cry of "Agents are...GO!" from their fearless leader Commander Kahn, the agents descend on the scene to save the day.

Basically the gameplay involves hitting beats and pulling sliders with the stylus in time with the song. Although this may sound simple, let me also assure you that the game can be quite difficult, and beating some of the harder songs on high difficulty settings is quite a challenge. I found this a welcome relief from the easier games that most video game companies push out these days. During each level you are introduced to a person who has called for help from the agents, and as you get through "sections" of the song, you see humorous little manga-style (comic book-style) animations of how the situation is improving. Get through the whole song and the problem will be solved. Honestly, the best way to get a good feel for the gameplay is to watch a video of it on youtube.

Honestly, my favorite part about this game was the hilariousness and ridiculousness that pervades it throughout. I mean, grown men with awesome hair dancing around in suits to save the day? Great.

Lastly I have a list of all the songs included in the game in case you are interested:
Walkie Talkie Man - Steriogram
ABC - Jackson Five
Sk8er Boi - Avril Lavigne
I Was Born to Love You - Queen
Rock This Town - Stray Cats
Highway Star - Deep Purple
Y.M.C.A. - Village People
September - Earth, Wind and Fire
Canned Heat - Jamiroquai
Material Girl - Madonna
La La - Ashlee Simpson
You’re the Inspiration - Chicago
Survivor - Destiny’s Child
Without a Fight - Hoobastank
Believe - Cher
Let’s Dance - David Bowie
Jumpin Jack Flash - Rolling Stones
Makes No Difference - Sum 41
The Anthem - Good Charlotte

I highly encourage you to purchase this game, and I'm sure that you won't regret it.

Read the entire review @ http://gnadegames.blogspot.com

Simply put...this game is fun....really fun...wicked fun even. Elite Beat Agents appears on the surface a simple little diversion where you just tap numbers in order. The fact is that it will consume your time and will play levels over and over again both because they are fun and because you lack the rythm and timing to beat the level and move onto the next one. Throw in an incredible multiplayer component both with only 1 cart or multiple cars and you've got one of the best DS titles ever made, because it is unique to the DS, has play mechanics that can't be recreated on any other system, has great pick-up and play gameplay, and is just incredibly fun and addictive. This game is an absolute must-buy for DS owners and is one of those rare titles that is a system pusher...i.e. you should buy a DS to play this game.


Gameplay: 10/10
Pros: Multiplayer is a riot and invokes as much smack talk as an intense game of Halo Team slayer. The main game's story is quirky, and funny. I can't remember the last time I actually laughed during a videogame, but Elite Beat Agents is hilarious and totally out there. There's nothing better than listening to a song, getting in the groove and totally acing a level. Then again just triumphing over a difficult level is pretty darn rewarding. Simple controls, yet incredibly hard gameplay to master.
Cons: Game is challenging on easy ("breezin") and really tough on regular ("cruisin"). It could be frustrating to some, but I have not gotten frustrated once having to play a song/level over and over again to beat it, because it's just plain fun to play.


Graphics: 10/10
Pros: Sweet comic book style graphics and storytelling...great artistic design and presentation. Elite Beat Agents polygon models are excellent and move very fluidly and comically.
Cons: Probably doesn't push the DS hardware to the limits, but the graphics complement the gameplay and differentiate themselves from other games..so ten from me


Sound/Music: 9/10
Pros: Some excellent songs: Jamiroquai's "Nothing left for me to do, just Dance!" from Napoleon Dynamite is a favorite. There's also a great variety: everything from Madonna "Material Girl" to Avril Lavigne's "Sk8ter Boi." All the songs and music are good choices and fit the levels. The voicework for the beat agents and commander kahn is very welcomed and sounds great. The best music/sound I've experienced on the system.
Cons: There are some song duds. I mean I have to take a point off for Ashlee Simpson and "LaLa"


Lasting Appeal: 9/10
Pros: The Multiplayer levels all have their own competitive scenarios...from fighting aliens to kids playing 3on3 bball which makes the frentic multiplayer even more fun because it offers some new cartoon stories. There's also an excellent Co-op mode and the game is just so fun you will want to beat it on every difficulty level and then play it all over again to get higher scores and grades.
Cons: An online component would have been nice, but if the song lagged or something it wouldn't work so I guess they can save that for #2. The game is so great you can't help but wish there were more tracks and levels.


Average: 95.00%
Tilt: +2.50%

...read the rest of the review @ http://gnadegames.blogspot.com

Although most people try to stay away from strange men in business suits dancing to "Material Girl", I just say, "Encore!" because that is what this game is all about. It is about a squad of men who help people out by dancing and singing away. For instance, a girl and her football jock friend (whom she is planning to ask out) get stuck babysitting annoying little kids unexpectedly on their study date. You play as the E.B.A. who dance to help solve their problem. How this works, I don't know. How the game works, I do know. On the screen are numbered circles, around theses circles are bigger circles that get smaller and close in around the numbered circle. Once the shrinking circle encloses around the other one to the point where it's touching the edge exactly, that's where you tap it, along with the beat, to score points and help save the day by moving a meter at the top of the screen all the way in the green. The more notes you hit, the more the meter turns green. The more you miss the more the meter turns red. There are about three segments in each song, the meter goes back to a point on the meter where it's 1/2 to 3/4 red after each segment. The more green it is the better the cut scene between each segment. Another way to get points other than the circles is the wheel. There is a wheel that pops up every now and then that you have to spin as fast as you can, in any direction, to score points and fill the meter. There is also the ball that is similar to the circle, except you have to hold the stylus on it and move with it till it reaches the end of its path. Also with the ball there is a reverse arrow that means instead of stopping you reverse and continue forwrd until you reach the end. The story gets weirder and better with each song. I think it's hilarious and fun, others think it's stupid and creepy, it just depends on your sense of humor.

This game is very addicting. It can be placed in the same genre as Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and Guitar Hero. You have to go along with the beat of the songs in order to tap the spots on the touch screen at the right time and in the right order.

The choice of songs are not exactly my number ones but are universsally toe-tapping for anyone influenced by American music from every decade.

I can't put this game down even if I'm frustrated because i can't get past a certain song. Once you get thru most of the first level, you can't play it lightly. Use earphones!

Happy Gaming!!!