Game Review: Elite Beat Agents

Game: Elite Beat Agents
Console: Nintendo DS
Developer: iNiS
Release Date: 6th November 2006

As a fan of rhythm games I was pretty sure that I'd like Elite Beat Agents, it has all the right components for my approval at least; a decent soundtrack of songs (all covers, but good ones nonetheless), good humour and light hearted stories to link the gameplay with the player. Songs are accessed through a map screen and are unlocked in sets as more songs are completed.

Once a song has been selected to play, a short story will flash up in a comic book style (which can be skipped if desired), before the music begins. Numbered circles appear on the touchscreen and indicate the correct timing and order of each rhythmic tap. A meter at the top of the touchscreen keeps track of progress and moves between Yes and No to determine the outcome of in-song cutscenes where more of the story is told. If the meter is in the Yes section then the story will go well, and if it's in the No section then things will go badly, but the player won't fail the song unless the meter goes past the No section and drains entirely.

There are 15 regular songs in total, as well as 3 bonus songs which cover the genres of Pop, Pop Punk and Disco mainly. Most of the songs are fast paced and provide a good rhythm to tap along to. While the routines aren't ever out of time as such, it can be hard for fans of games such as Rhythm Heaven to get the hang of the game at first, since the player's tapping can follow the vocal line, instrumental line or rhythm at any given time. I found myself doing far better at songs I knew outside of the game, since the routine usually follows the vocal line.

There are three different types of movement on the touchscreen that are featured in songs; the first is Hit Markers; simply tapping on circles at the correct moment (sometimes there are two on top of one another), the second is Phrase Markers; tapping once on a circle and then dragging a ball to a second circle (and sometimes back again), and the last is Spin Markers; a circle which must be rotated by quick circular motions on the touchscreen until lights at the side of the screen illuminate.

Points are scored for accurate timing and maintaining a combo throughout songs, and players are graded at the end of a song on their performance. There are two difficulty levels to choose from in the game although they play as separate modes, so songs cleared on one difficulty won't be cleared on the other. One star difficulty starts out as laughably easy and even has a guide pointer for the first few songs, but ends up fairly challenging. Two star difficulty begins at a reasonable difficulty level before escalating beyond a level that I could manage.

The humour throughout the game is well placed and unintrusive; the odd change of scene or clothes can provide quite a laugh at unexpected times. I enjoyed the comic before each song, and the game's character comes shines through with its presentation as a whole. With 15 songs making up the total storyline, it's not particularly a long game and the only replayability comes from trying songs at a harder difficulty.

Graphically the game is presented nicely, with a fun style in both the comic sections and general gameplay. The Hit Markers for tapping in rhythm are clear and easy to see, although the circles system could have been improved for when there's a lot of them on screen. There's a good choice of songs included in the game, and although all of them are cover versions, most are well performed. The only issue I found with the sound in the game was the the songs sounded compressed and tinny both through headphones and the speakers of the DS itself.

Overall Elite Beat Agents is a charming and fun rhythm game which features a good selection of covers songs to tap along to, allowing the player to help characters and see their actions as the Elite Beat Agents positively affect their situations. While the game is short and there's a steep difficulty curve, particularly at two star difficulty I'd recommend giving it a go as a rainy day distraction.

Rating: 76/100
Grade: B