Elite Beat Agents (DS) (Gamespy)

- Gamespy -

As a concept, Elite Beat Agents is kind of a tough sell to people who aren't gamers and are familiar with overtly weird software out of Japan. A funky trio of jazzy agents in suits and sunglasses solve the world's problems with the power of music and dancing. Just the guys you'd think to call on if you were a taxi driver trying to get a pregnant woman to the hospital, or a washed-up baseball star who has to save a kid from a fire-breathing golem. Essentially, it's a rhythm game where you tap along to music and soak up some totally decent covers of popular songs, and it's something that really works on the DS.

The agents do the dancing, but you keep the rhythm. Numbered circles appear on the screen, and tapping them at the right moment with your stylus keeps your "elite-o-meter" in "Yes!" territory. Some numbers are set on tracks, and after being hit, they turn into rolling balls you follow with your stylus. Lastly, you'll rapidly circle the screen to spin a spinner, which can get pretty frantic since your meter rapidly drops anytime you're not actively racking up points. You really need to play it to get a feel for it, and it feels good. Hitting beats gives you great audiovisual feedback as if you were popping a bubble, and you can't help but get into the rhythm -- at least if you want to make it to the next section of the song.

Songs are split up into four parts, and animated comics pop up during breaks. The situations are ridiculous and full of do-or-die dramatics, and the sharp art style and snappy pace make them worth watching. You can still clear the stage if you don't keep the beat up to par in every section of the song, but screwing up too much triggers a negative outcome for the mini-scene -- like the dog trying to make his way home being picked up by a car containing not pretty girls, but thoroughly unconvincing transvestites who kick him out after he bites someone's arm. You can live with the screw-up more easily since you at least get to see an extra scene, and even if you don't care about combos and high scores, seeing things go perfectly is a nice incentive to do better the next time you play it.

The song selection is impressive and is a good mix of songs past and present, rock and pop. If you're the kind of person who appreciates David Bowie and Queen, you're covered. If you'd rather listen to Avril Lavigne and Sum 41, they're in there too. The songs are covers, so die-hard fans of the originals may find themselves nitpicking just a bit, but the overall quality is great, and with a few exceptions, the songs link up thematically with the game's nutty scenarios.

You may find Ashlee Simpson's La La vapid and distasteful (not to mention a bit suggestive for a game with an E rating), but when paired with a sexy nurse fighting goofy comic-book bad guys representing viruses in an Olympic athlete's bloodstream, it actually works out pretty nicely. Other memorable episodes include the downright goofy -- a Japanese auto executive's son tries to recover stolen plans by tapping into his ninja heritage to the tune of Jamiroquai's Canned Heat (aka that song from Napoleon Dynamite) -- and the strangely touching -- a daughter and her mother deal with the father dying just before Christmas. Surprisingly, the music and animation (plus the fact that everything depends on your skill) come together and make you actually feel some emotion, which really gives the game some extra pull.

This is the type of game people will be recommending to you out of the blue if they see you pull out a DS. Since you'll already have your copy, you can go ahead and experience the game's multiplayer. Elite Beat Agents actually supports four-player download play with a single copy of the game, but it's limited to one song and really only works as a demo. With multiple cartridges, you can play co-op and alternate on any scenario/song from the single-player game, or you can team up for Versus play where you battle it out in situations like guitar battle competitions, teen idol tryouts, and an Iron Chef-style cooking contest. Nailing perfect notes on your end causes trouble for the other team, and victory definitely feels sweet.

Elite Beat Agents is a pick-up-and-play kind of game, but challenge-seekers and perfectionists will find that the precision involved makes the game super-challenging on higher difficulty levels. No matter what song or difficulty you're playing on, it's always easier to fail than to succeed, so you're going to feel engaged no matter what. If "wacky," "quirky," or "freaking bizarre" turn you off, you may not pick up what this game is laying down, but unless you have something against having fun, you really ought to try.