User Reviews (1 - 11 of 71)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Potential, lost due to poor soundtrack

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 23
Date: December 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I had played Ouendan, the japanese game this game was modeled after, and while they play basically the same, the original was much better. This is primarily due to the fact that the soundtrack for Elite Beat Agents was terrible. The songs in Ouendan were popular Jpop, and had fairly catchy tunes. Elite Beat Agents uses either unheard of or ancient songs such as YMCA. Basically, it seems like they just looked for the cheapest music licenses they could find. It could have been an awesome "sequel" for those of us who played ouendan, but instead it ended up being a major disappointment.

Stick with the original

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: February 22, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game the other day and all I can say is this version is pure garbage. The songs don't seem to match the agents when they dance to the beat. Do yourself a favor and buy the original: Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan. This game was lost in translation.

Not for lovers of rhythm.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I wanted to like this game so badly, and I did...at first. Then, as I was less and less able to make it through the songs without major frustration, reality started to sink in.

A good rhythm/music game should have a few things. Rhythm, (mostly) great songs, and a somewhat forgiving way of rating your performance in the game. Unfortunately, EBA falls short in all of these categories. First, the choices for beats within the songs are not always particularly intuitive, and are sometimes just mad, arhythmic dashes. Other times, I felt like the game was just not reading my taps. It doesn't help much that the beat sounds are loud and awkward. Next, the song choice is extremely spotty. I understand that Nintendo needs to cater to a wide range of people, but that can be done without sacrificing quality. And, do we really need a song from Good Charlotte AND Sum 41? They're practically the same band. Furthermore, they aren't classic bands or even particularly popular these days. What gives? "Sk8r boi" is even more painful. Thankfully there are a couple of gems, especially the Bowie song. Finally, the difficulty is unforgiving. Basically your timer is always counting down and you have to hit the marks to keep it up. This seems like it'd be okay, but on much harder difficulties the meter almost runs out faster than you can get to the next beat. What this means is there is basically no room for error and that's not really fun at all. I could have a huge score and be 3/4ths of the way through a song with basically no errors, miss a couple of beats near each other, and lose before knowing what happened. The aforementioned spastic beats further confound this problem.

That being said, the design is great and many of the stories hilarious. The off-kilter humor is pretty refreshing for a video game, but then rhythm games like Parappa and Gitaroo man were far more eccentric and entertaining. All and all this is a good idea gone a little sour and stale. Guitar Hero has really raised the bar for rhythm games in all of the points I just mentioned and then some. They popularity of that series shows that Harmonix really nailed the rhythm genre and all future developers need to take a cue from that game.

Fun game, horrible covers

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 3
Date: July 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Since I am tremendously over the age of 10, my opinion may not count for much here, but I feel compelled to weigh in.

Elite Beat Agents is a weird, very fun game that is simple to learn considering that all you do is tap circles, roll a ball, and spin a wheel with the stylus in time to music. And that's it. It can be frustrating, but it is the the kind of frustration that makes you want to come back for more.

The Japanese-style animation is ok, but not worth all of the raves given to it. This is just a game, and there is only so much they can put on a chip. You want animation, see Ghost In The Shell.

The unforgivable thing about this game is, surprisingly, some of the music. Considering that this game is being played mostly by kids who probably never heard the original versions of Deep Purple's "Highway Star" or Stray Cats' "Rock This Town", it's a crime. Nintendo botched "Highway Star", but they murdered "Rock This Town". I wonder what Brian Setzer thinks of it.

I'm only about halfway through the game, and I think that so far, the only actual real music artist on here was the guy from Jamaroqui, and it doesn't look like he even got a credit...

Overrated game.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 6
Date: April 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I thought the game was too repetative and kind of boring after a while. Also, Amazon lowered the price 5 bucks right after they shipped it. What is that about?!

This would be 5 stars if not for the Soundtrack.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 6
Date: April 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I like Elite Beat Agents. It's fun and addicting and a guilty pleasure of wasting time away in this Rythmn based game. It's more Dance Dance Revolution with a stylus than Guitar Hero by it's theme of dancing to a beat.

Unfortunately, it's not a 5 star game.

The biggest drawback against this game is the soundtrack. Would I want to play a game to the beat of Averill Lavigne, Ashleey Simpson or Good Charlotte? No (and I don't care if I mispell their names, they all suck). Am I forced to do so? Yes. Are there any secret songs and levels to unlock? Yes. Are the secret songs good? If you like Cher and Destiny's Child, yes. If you don't like the secret songs, Please pray the sequel has "Carry on My wayward son" included on the soundtrack for redemption.

Some levels have good and funny storylines like the Baseball Player named Hulk who revives his baseball career by taking on a Volcano Monster. Other stories can be dismal. Like the Nurse who kills viruses for a track star to get healthy from his cold to Ashlee Simpson's song "La La". Maybe my tastes are different than others, If you're into more than half or even two-thirds of the tunes in this track, good for you. It's a 5 star game to plunk money and time and energy to advance through a painstaking level with Hoobastank.

I suggest you play this game at an Airport or an Airplane that doesn't have a good inflight movie or if you're just bored out of your mind.

Great Game. Lousy Soundtrack. That's why the 4 stars.

Buy the game new. Not from a reseller.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I just bought a DSLite. Since Elite Beat Agents is over a year old I dropped by my local GameStop to pick up the game used. I thought I got a bargain. I fired up the game in my brand new DS to see that the game saved all the former player's game stats. The second hand EBA game shows all the sites cleared meaning everything is open. I have no idea where to start. The map is on a free spinning ball so there is no linear way for me to figure out where to go next. This will probably ruin the story line for me, time will tell. The game tap happy game so far is fun. I started playing in easy mode but the sites I picked was already bumping up the difficulty. It a huge turn off when a game you started playing just kicks your butt. I recommend buying the game new. Unless someone knows how to reset a DS cartridge. If you know how to reset this game, I would appreciate the information.

Fun Time

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

After stealing the game from my boyfriend whenever he would let me have it for a couple hours, he got it for me for Christmas. When he first got it for himself, I thought it was boring and I was going to hate it. But now I can't stop playing. It's nice because the songs aren't long so you don't have to commit too much time to playing each time you turn it on. I find it really challenging, as I have no rhythm. I've been telling people it's like DDR, except you're tapping on a screen rather than tapping your feet on the floor. To me, it's definitely worth picking up. The only negative...too much stuff that can be skipped. Luckily, they have a skip option!

DDR For the Hands

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I had no intentions of picking up this game until I was in Target and playing it on their display DS. Immediately I found myself liking the game, even though I didn't really understand how to play. Once I found out the extremely simple to learn controls, I played the first level.
One of the things that attracted me to the game was the art and animation. On the lower screen, you have three agents in 3-D, and on the top screen are characters in the same style as the Wario-Wares characters. You have to play songs and hit the notes in time to the music in order to make the people happy. Every once in a while, you'll get a break and watch a scene where good things (or bad things, depending on how you did) happen to your characters.
The game itself is quite difficult, much like playing DDR, except you use your hands. If it gets too easy, too, there are other difficulty modes, and I've got a feeling there's a lot more to unlock.
The only thing I wasn't so impressed with about this game was the music selection. I would have preferred them to pick songs like those in DDR instead of having pop hits like "Sk8er Boi." I know I probably won't ever play the level with "Sk8er Boi" again just because I simply hate that song.
So if you love crazy games that keep your toes moving in time to the beat, definitely pick this one up.

Hard to Beat these Agents

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game after hearing about it on someone's podcast. I was surprised by the quirky nature of the game. It is a music rhythm game where the Elite Beat Agents are called upon to save people's problems by singing, and dancing. The idea is absurd but by using a stylus you touch or drag along the lower screen to keep the agents moving in sync with the music. If done correctly, the Agents manage to save another crisis and are ready for the next assignment. This game is best enjoyed using headphones and the rumble pack available separately. They are not necessary but add to the enjoyment. After a while, the music begins to get a hold of you and you will want to save the rest of the world using music.
I highly recommend this game for anyone with a sense of humor.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next 

Actions