Elite Beat Agents for Nintendo DS Reviews by Gamers

Elite Beat Agents is a music/rhythm game that uses the stylus instead of a controller or dance pad. As music plays, buttons will appear on the touch screen. You will have to tap them in synch to the beat of the music, indicated by circles that close in around the buttons. In later stages, you will also have to drag the stylus across lines, drawing lines and sometimes shapes like circles or stars, all corresponding with that part of the music.

There are over 15 rock and pop songs with a stage for each, old and new, including "Y.M.C.A." and "Sk8ter Boi".

The real draw of this game is the amusing presentation, in which three men in suits, presented in brisk comic book sequences, must help people in trouble... how? By singing and dancing of course. You start out helping a teen babysitter put the kids to bed, with later levels having you help a pirate captain find treasure, or an amateur magician defeat a gang holding up a casino. The suits, called the Elite Beat Agents, will appear on the touch screen, with cutscenes and animations appearing on top. There is a lot of watch, more than you could take in while trying to keep up with the music and the gameplay, so the game even has a replay mode, allowing you to check out all the action on the top screen, while listening to the music and admiring your rhythm skills.

The premise is completely off the wall, and each stage gets zanier than the last. But if you find Elite Beat Agent's premise as entertaining as I do, then this game is a no-brainer.