Greatest Hits

Game: Elite Beat Agents
System: Nintendo DS
Release date: November 6, 2006
Developed by: iNiS
Published by: Nintendo

There are many reasons the Nintendo DS outsells the PSP two to one, and games like Elite Beat Agents surely figure prominently in the consumer's decision to purchase a particular handheld system. In fact, because Elite Beat Agents relies so heavily on the touch screen and stylus it wouldnt make much sense on any other video game system, portable or otherwise.

Elite Beat Agents is a rhythm game, not unlike Guitar Hero, Donkey Konga or Dance Dance Revolution. Players must use the stylus to tap, drag and rotate objects on the touch-screen in rhythm with one of sixteen pop or rock songs. As the game progress, the difficulty level increases noticeably; the final two stages are a formidable challenge.

The heroes of Elite Beat Agents are a trio of top-secret agents who use music to solve the problems of everyday people. They dance, sing and rock out through each song, which is sung by a cover artist and which is split into three segments. Should a performance meter be yellow at each break, a video will appear showing the party in need making progress toward his or her goal; should the performance meter dip into the red "danger" zone, the video will show the party experiencing a setback. Each stage has three possible endings, wholly dependent on the players performance in the three segments.


Most of the stages in Elite Beat Agents are very, very funny. The crazy characters in need of help often find themselves in wacky, unlikely scenarios and choose to solve their problems in the most ridiculous or extravagant ways. There are a few exceptions, however, including the final stages which are more rousing and one tearjerker in the middle of the game which would make the toughest heart melt.

Games like Elite Beat Agents do not arrive very often, especially on handheld systems, typically the home of portable versions of console hits. Quirky, funny, imaginative and fun for all age groups, it represents the best the DS and third-party developers have to offer.

Score: 96/100