Review: Elite Beat Agents (DS)
Elite Beat Agents
Developer: iNiS
Publisher: Nintendo (of America)
Format Reviewed: DS
Other Released Formats: None
Number of Players: 1-4 (Via Wireless DS Single Card or Multi-Card Download Play)
Online Features: None
ESRB Rating: E10+ – Everyone over 10 (Cartoon Violence, Crude Humor, Lyrics, Suggestive Themes)
Genre: Rhythm, Music
Release Date: 2006-11-07
Misc Feature: Support for Rumble Pak
This review is for the 2006 game, Elite Beat Agents. Elite Beat Agents was picked up by the kids who thought it would be a “Men in Black” style easy game. Whoa were we wrong. It’s a pretty tough little rhythm game, that keeps you tapping (and spinning and rolling) the beat. The heroes of the game are 3 agents dressed in black suits with microphones, who groove to the music, solving the world’s problems. In the first levels, you help a loser director, a girl who just wants to go steady, and a lost dog. Not serious stuff there, but it gets more so in the later levels.
The gameplay mechanics seem simple enough. You tap the numbers as the circle encloses on it, usually along with the actual song beat, some circles become a ball that you have to guide on a half-circle track, some back and forth. It gets tough in the later levels. Keeping up with the beat circles gets real tough, but Ashton has made it to the final level after 2 weeks.
The songs are catchy, and don’t get old quickly, which is a good thing, because you will hear them over and over again until you are able to get the level done correctly. Timing is crucial, but so is a good eye. Sometimes numbers will overlap, and you will have to tap twice (always messes me up). There are 19 songs, some from newer artists, some from older ones (real old…like Queen and Deep Purple). Some work pretty well, some…well…Ashlee Simpson? The kids knew the songs and will sing along as they’re franticly tapping, dragging and spinning along on the touch screen. It’s great to see that they’re getting into the music as well as the game.
The graphics are great, done in a quasi-anime style, and making use of the agents as a quick reference for how great (or horrible) you are doing in the game. Each level has a story, and the cut scenes are entertaining and fun. In addition to the pre-level cut scenes, there are scenes during the game that let you know if you’ve done well on a piece of the song. It lets you take a breather, and many of them are actually pretty funny. I did not notice any slowdown, even with the frantic pace of things going on.
The control of the game is easy enough, you use the stylus exclusively, and once you get the hang of it, you’re tap tap tapping your way through. We don’t have a rumble-pack, so I’m not sure how that works with the game.
The Multi-player lets you do co-op or competitive. Co-op lets you split up the beats as a team (which might be harder depending on how well you know the song), while competitive has you trying to fill your meter faster than the other players. If you’re playing with one cartridge, prepare to make a sandwich while each DS unit downloads. It’s a big game.
In all, this is a great, frantic rhythm game that will give you a lot of replayability, and keeps it fun. It’s definitely not easy, but it’s rewarding, and keeps rewarding you with the entertaining cut-scenes. Musically it’s all over the map and that keeps things interesting (Y.M.C.A. anyone?). The boys love the game, and both my 7 year old and 5 year old have had a great time. Ashton (7) loves playing, and says that it’s even better with headphones on. Don’t worry about the E10+ rating if you have a younger gamer, there’s nothing too violent in the game. The most suggestive thing I’ve seen is the babysitter and football player in the earlier level, but there’s definitely nothing too risqué that they won’t see on iCarly, or anything on Nickelodeon.
Rating 4.5 of 5
Pros: Great fun, fast-paced, rhythm game. Multiplayer is always fun, especially the co-op.
Cons: Might be too difficult at times
For your comparison, Testfreaks rates this game 7.6 out of 10 compiling scores of over 150 expert and user reviews! http://www.testfreaks.com/ds-games/elite-beat-agents/ (I’ll be talking more about Test Freaks in a later post)