Last year, Guitar Hero took the standard idea of performing actions
(pressing buttons, strumming a paddle) in time to music, and wrapped
its own very distinctive style and charm around it. In much the same
way, Elite Beat Agents will have you tapping, dragging, and spinning
surrounded by a manic flair all its own, all wrapped up in a funny and
pleasing package.
The mechanics really couldn't be simpler. The game only asks you to do
three things - tap an indicated area of the screen on an indicated beat
of a song, drag the stylus from one indicated area to another in an
indicated rhythm, or draw circles on the screen as fast as you can.
That said, you will be asked to do these things quickly and precisely,
so levels can very anywhere between incredibly hard and frustratingly
difficult, most often falling in the area of "OK, I'll really get it
this time..."
The style is a bit bizarre, but always entertaining and fast-paced,
which suits the substance of the game perfectly. The songs are
obviously covers, which dampens the enjoyability if you happen to be
familiar with the songs (although familiarity with the music makes the
game considerably easier). The game also will not have the lasting
appeal of an RPG or strategy game it will take forever to complete -
the songs are limited, and once you have them down, there's little
replay value. Still, there are few games for the DS that are as
start-to-finish entertaining as Elite Beat Agents. Agents are GO!
