Elite Beat Agents

"The Few, the Proud, the Elite!"

When the idea of Elite Beat Agents first came across to me, I was very doubtful that the game would be very good at all. I mean, a rhythm game on the DS? To me, it just seemed impossible, and it felt like the developers were just trying to emulate the success of the rhythm game blockbuster Guitar Hero games. I held off trying this title out for so long, simply because the idea of making a rhythm game on Nintendo's handheld seemed absurd, and after seeing screenshots of the game, the absurdity factor really started kicking in even more. However, after seeing the game's initial soundtrack, my doubts were washed away, and I'm glad they were.

One thing, however, that may turn off casual gamers is that Elite Beat Agents is not a pick-up-and-play game like the Guitar Hero games are. Honestly, if you just jump into the game right when you start it up, you will have the crap kicked out of you. I suggest trying the Training Mode first, which is very helpful at explaining to you how the game is played. Basically, there are numbered circles, which serve as the rhythm. These circles are colored to make the game easier. Other, thinner, circles form around the numbered circles, and you have to tap the circle just as the outer circle is all the way around the numbered circle. Sound confusing? That's probably because it is.

However, just tapping numbered circles for hours wouldn't be that fun, so the game obviously has to have some other ways to get the rhythm going! There are also “sliding” numbered circles, where you have to tap the circle just as usual, but if there is a small path by the circle, just as you tap it, the circle will turn into a beach ball. You have to keep your stylus on the beach ball as you drag it along the path, and let go as it reaches another circle (not numbered) at the end of the path. However, the other circle may have an arrow on it, meaning you'll have to drag the beach ball back down the path (this can happen multiple times on one path).

That's not it, though! There are also “spinners”, which are much different than regular numbered circles and sliders. When you need to do a spinner, the screen changes to a large striped wheel. The goal is to spin the wheel as fast as you can to make these lights in the background reach the top of their tower. After the lights reach the top of the tower, you can continue spinning the wheel in order to gain major bonus points. Spinners usually only show up once or twice in songs.

Now, you're probably wondering what the consequences are for messing up the rhythm of the song. You see, there is a bar at the top of the bottom screen (before I knew about the DS, I never would've imagined that I would ever have to say something like that) that goes down if you mess up the rhythm. In the easiest mode in the game (which dons a strange name in order to keep with the oddness of Elite Beat Agents) it's pretty hard to fail, but in the normal mode and higher, missing one beat can more than likely lead to failing a song. This can become very frustrating, especially since it feels like you're not being rewarded for just getting off a massive combo. Also, even if you hit every note perfectly, but there is a small gap in between beats, the bar will sometimes go down into the red! This is because the bar is constantly going down, and only moves up based on the beats you hit. Hopefully, if they make a sequel, they make it so the bar goes down if you miss beats and goes up as you hit them.

Whew, now that I explained the basic way of playing the game, I'm going to explain how you actually go out and do the previously mentioned actions! You choose your difficulty (which also chooses your character, something that was slightly annoying to me) and then you are taken to a moveable globe. The globe has various objects on it (more are unlocked as you complete songs) that have someone screaming help above them. By clicking on the object, you can see what song is there. That's right, you'll have to memorize the songs designated to the certain objects, instead of there just being a free play mode (which would have been awesome!). Anyway, there must be a reason why these objects have a speech bubble with the world, “HELP!” brazened above them! Well, various citizens of the world are having problems (some of these are pretty freaking funny, good job to the game's writers!) and they need the Elite Beat Agents to come so they can dance and save the day. The citizen's situations can play out various ways, depending on how well you are doing in the song. However, if you complete the song, all the situations will end the same way. If you got the good direction in the song, a pink circle will come over a picture of the situation the civilian is in, but if you got the bad direction, a red X will come over the picture.

It just wouldn't have that elite beat without a multiplayer mode to boot. Thankfully, Elite Beat Agents has single-card multiplayer, but the multiplayer is somewhat more limited than the main game. There are some new situations to test-out within the multiplayer game, but it is played somewhat oddly. Basically, whoever has a higher bar by the end of the scene in that situation gets the upper-hand for that round in the situation, meaning they can end in two outcomes. I disliked the fact that when you unlock a song in single-player, you can't automatically play it in multiplayer. Also, not even all the songs are available for multiplayer! The multiplayer can be played in a cooperative mode if it is multi-card play, but with single-card play it is relatively versus mode only. If there are more than two players playing, it will either be 2 vs. 1 or 2 vs. 2. Something interest in multiplayer is that you can choose your character, something I wish you were able to do in the single-player mode.

Every time you complete a song, your overall score builds up, this can unlock you bonus stages, and also sends you up in rank. There are some pretty decent songs to be unlocked, too, so this is very much worth it. Also, you can save your plays just in case you pulled off a flawless performance and you want to show it off to your friends.

Now that I have explained all there is to explain about the game, I need to touch on the game's difficulty. Any gamer, and I don't care who you are, will have a tough time with this game, even on the easiest difficulty level. It's just that hard. However, despite how hard the game is, it's very fun to play and, with a lot of practice, you'll become the master at Elite Beat Agents.

Of course, just like with other rhythm games like Guitar Hero, there are some health hazards that come along with Elite Beat Agents. I found that playing the game for many hours can bring on an extreme headache, and every time you close your eyes, you'll see those freaking numbered circles on the back of your eyelids. Also, the way the stylus needs to be held in order to do really good at the game will give you horrible cramping in your finger, and leave a small indention. However, if you're a hardcore gamer like I am, this probably won't affect your buying decision.

So far, I have praised Elite Beat Agents in nearly every category, but the game wasn't all that great in some areas. For example (probably due to the songs) the game's graphics are basically comic books. The agents are in 3D while playing songs, but they look horrible. After playing Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, I know that the DS can do much better in the graphical department, and there was no reason for the horrible character models that Elite Beat Agent showcases.

Like I said before, the soundtrack was amazing. There are some pretty famous songs on there, and there is a wide variety of genres available to satisfy a music-lover of any kind. I found myself playing some songs over and over again, not to play the game, but to simply listen to the song. The sound is top-notch and blares just enough for you to hear the song over anything else that might be on in your playing area. I hope that if there is a sequel to this title, the soundtrack will be a bit larger than it is in this game, but I was still satisfied.

I guess you're probably assuming that the story in Elite Beat Agents is horrible. However, if you thought that, you'd be terribly mistaken. I found each individual story for every situation was delightful. Most of these situations will have you laughing out loud, while this one situation will just have you feeling terribly sad. It's amazing that such a simple game can exploit so many human emotions. The final situation actually feels like a great, climatic finish, something that is usually reserved for every game other than the rhythm genre. All-in-all, I was impressed with the way Elite Beat Agents tells its story.

I didn't get bored of the game for at least a week, which is a lot to say for a DS game, which are usually too short to really satisfy my gaming needs for more than a few days at a time. You'll be popping in Elite Beat Agents for a very long time to come, too, simply to listen to the songs again. The multiplayer feature, however, is somewhat of a letdown, and could've been so much better, which would've added a lot to the replayability of the title and would've most definitely earned this game a higher score.

Elite Beat Agents is a very memorable title and is perfect for anybody's collection of Nintendo DS games. Some more casual gamers should stay away from the title, however, because I don't they'd have the ambition to master the skills needed to play the title. If you get this game expecting to play it for lengthy sessions, I would probably think about passing because it does come with some slight aches and pains. Any music fan with a DS, and any gamer in particular, should definitely check out one of the best rhythm games I have ever played for any handheld or console.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/28/07