Elite Beat Agents Review

By, A-Zar

Background Info

Elite Beat Agents (EBA) and it’s predecessor Os Tatoke Ouendan are games that are unlike any other I have ever played before. I haven’t experienced many music or rhythm games aside from Donkey Konga, Jungle Beat, and Electroplankton, so this was a completely new experience, and one that I am happy to say is well worth your time and money.

In EBA, you take on the role of Agents that have to help people with their problems by performing some pretty cool dance moves to the beats of many well-known songs. In the original game, you were Ouendan, which are men cheerleaders who dance to help root for people in trouble that need help. Sounds kind of confusing, yes, but the game’s premise went through a pretty big overhaul in the Americanization process for obvious reasons. While men cheerleaders may be accepted in Japan, a man who is a cheerleader in America and other countries is something else. Fortunately, the change does not affect the game play in any way.

Game play/ Story

You begin a mission as a corresponding song begins to play. You start by watching scenes presented in a comic book format that display the problem you have to help solve. You are then led into the song by tapping several series of beats that are in the song. The beats are presented as small circles arranged on the bottom screen by color and in number order. The time at which you tap the circle is dictated by the beat of the song and it requires timing. There is a learning curve to this, but the tutorial combined with the low level of difficulty in the early stages will help you become adjusted to the unique game mechanics. Depending on how well you time the beat, you will be given a score of either “X” which is the lowest and a miss, 50, 100, or 300, which is highest. Too many X’s or 50s will hinder your score and prevent you from moving on in the level.

In every level there is a status bar located at the top of the bottom screen. It continuously decreases from the accepted passing level and a “Yes” to the failing zone of “No.” You can maintain a Yes by timing the beats correctly and getting 100s and 300s. If you get 50s, it will not suffice for the decreasing levels and eventually cause failure. Getting several Xs in a row will also cause failure. You do not fail when the meter hits No, but instead when the meter runs out completely. There is actually a decent amount of leeway in the No area of the meter and it will take several Xs to finally fail you, but that is where the story elements come into play. Every song is broken up into 3-4 parts. After 1 part of the song is successfully played through, the story progresses, and depending on how well you did, you will either receive an X, or an O. An O will help the people in trouble towards their goal, while an X will produce a funny scene of them getting deeper in trouble, but not yet failing.

After you complete the level and finish all the parts, your score is tallied, and depending on how many Os and Xs you got for every part of the mission, the solution to the person’s problem will be better or worse. Many of the stories are very funny and all of them are worth the time to read through. Your score, how many 300s, 100s, 50s, Xs, and continuous beats are all tallied and you can even save the best runs from each level to go back and view later.

Game Mechanics

There are several levels of difficulty in the game. An easy mode, normal mode, hard mode, and very hard mode. Each level of difficulty has the same songs, but the number of beats increases substantially, thus, changing the level completely and making several playthroughs absolutely necessary. The speed of beats increases since there are many more, and the amount of time you are given before you see the beats in advance becomes tremendously lower, providing for insane levels of difficulty in late levels. The easy mode is pretty much your tutorial. Normal mode will serve for an average level of difficulty, with some songs proving more difficult than others. Hard mode, which is entitled “Sweatin’” in the game is when the difficulty really picks up, and memorization of beats will become necessary. The game is at it’s best in this stage because you will be tapping so many beats at a pace that really gets you into the game and you start to feel the song. Very hard mode is just insane. The circles get significantly smaller, the number of beats that appear simultaneously onscreen is mind-boggling, and the duration that you see the beats before you have to touch it is sometimes a second or less. It is truly an accomplishment to beat the game on this difficulty and it will yield some pretty nice unlockables. Although the songs will always remain the same, the game doesn’t get tired in the different modes. It actually picks up in fun and value. The easy mode is pretty dull and way too slow, so if you get into the game, you’ll be begging for the harder levels. There are also several unlockable songs that you achieve by increasing your rank. This helps to extend the life of the game as well. Beating every song on every difficulty level will get you a great surprise that is worth the effort.

Multi-Player

EBA boasts a fantastic multiplayer mode as well as deep single player mode. You can do single card download play and compete with friends or do co-op mode, as well as multi-card play. As an added bonus and extra incentive to find someone else with the game, every story for each level is completely different. The multiplayer is tons of fun and definitely worth it.

Closing Comments

EBA is a game that should be in every gamer and non-gamer’s collection. It is a great reminder of what gaming should be, and that is fun. Everyone will enjoy this game. The song selection is great with favorites, such as “YMCA” and “September” by Earth, Wind, and Fire. The game has some flaws however, that can not be ignored. Certain songs will have points where the beats on screen seem forced because they do not follow the beats of the song. This happens rarely, but when it does, you will know, and it will kill you. You can do your best to get past this and it proves to be a minor problem when compared to everything that is done right with the game. The graphics are great and everything is presented wonderfully. The agents and their moves look fantastic and cool enough to make you want to try. You may even learn a thing or two. As an added bonus, the rumble pack is compatible, which is always a huge plus for me. Every single beat is felt with the rumble pack very accurately when using it and it definitely extenuates the experience. The bottom line? This game is a must have for everyone with a DS. Get it as soon as you can and enjoy.

Score: 9.4/10

StarFox:Command

Title: StarFox:Command
System: Nintendo DS
Review By: A-Zar
Features: Wi-Fi, Rumble Pak, Download Play

I'll be the first one to admit it. I was very skeptical about StarFox Command. The control scheme did not flatter me in any way and when I heard how you would have to use the touchscreen to do everything except shoot, I wasn't sure if I would get it. I pre-order every game I want. In fact, I pre-ordered Twilight Princess over 26 months ago, however, I did not pre-order this game. I actually was so angry about the controls that I stopped considering it as a game that I would throw down 30 bucks for altogether. So, the game launched on August 28th and I had spoken to ill masta, Coop, and even KZero, and they had all gotten it without hesitation. I absolutely LOVE the original StarFox and 64. Adventures and Assault were great too, but they were pretty different than the original action/shooters, so after hearing my buds say how great the game was, I went out the next day and got it.

After beating the game 7 times (I still have 2 more endings left. More on that later) and spending close to 30 hours with it, let me tell you that this is one of the greatest DS games out there and it is definitely a must have.

Now that all that is out of the way let me get to the review. I just wanted to make it very clear that I was completely devastated by the fact that the controls were so vastly different and after playing it for a good long while, I love it.


What You Do
As I stated earlier, this game returns the StarFox roots in that it is an action/shooter. It is not exactly the same as the original or 64, though because of a new element that was added. In the original and 64, you fly forward through huge levels shooting as many enemies as you possibly can and if your a StarFox fan, you love this. Unfortunately, this part of the game is gone, but a new, major aspect is the strategy that's in it's place. You begin every level on a map and you are given a certain number of turns that you must defeat your enemy in. On the map you will see enemy bases, groups of enemies, enemy missiles, as well as power ups. You begin your turn by drawing a line that acts as your flight path. The line is limited by the amount of fuel you have left in your ship. Once you are satisfied with your path, you activate your turn and fly on it into enemies, their bases, or deadly missiles. if an enemy or missile reaches the Great Fox, you fail the mission and must retry.

When you fly into an enemy, a battle scene tells you which enemy you must defeat, as well as how many. The battle progresses just as a normal StarFox game and you can choose to obliterate every enemy on the map, or just go for the specified target. There is a time limit at the start of every battle. It begins at 100 seconds, and it can either go up or down. Up if you collect power ups and dodge enemy fire, and down if you waste it. After defeating a target, you must collect it's "core," and once you do that the battle is over. You time limit will increase according to the number of enemies you defeat. When you fly into a mother ship, you destroy the target enemies, which are usually more difficult, and then you must fly through a series of beacons(floating, square targets) which will lead you to the mother ship and help you gain speed so that at the end, you can barrel roll and destroy it.

Once the map is enemy-free, you have completed the mission. On certain levels, however, a boss battle will occur. You must defeat the boss, and then the mission is over. Depending on hoe thorough you are, a mission can take anywhere between 10 minutes, to an hour. If you are to fail in battle, you may continue as long as you have an extra life. If you completely eliminate every enemy, then you score a perfect, and your score will be much higher. The score is tallied after every level and your top score is saved so you can try to top it.


Controls
The controls take about 20 minutes to get used to and it feels forced at first, but after playing for a long time you will begin to see the advantages. Everything is very smooth, and most importantly, your aim is unbelievable. No other method of control can offer such accuracy. The controls in StarFox are very different, but once you get used to them, you won't even notice. To shoot, you press any button. It can be, A,B,X,Y, anything on the D-Pad,L, or R. You control your ship by moving your stylus on the touch screen in any direction. You choose whether you want the control to be inverted or normal in the options menu. I prefer inverted, but after playing, you will decide what works best. To do a boost, you tap the top half of the touch screen twice. To use the brakes, you tap the bottom half of the touch screen twice.

Now, the move that is probably the most important in the game is the all-powerful Barrel Roll. To do a barrel roll, slide the stylus to the right and left rapidly, or I just like to spin it in a circle. A barrel roll is your only means of defense, as it will repel any and every type of attack. It is a little too powerful because you can not get hurt, and with certain characters, such as Fox, you can barrel roll for 5-8 seconds. Barrel rolls, boosts, and the brakes all use energy from a meter. If the meter is low, you can't do any of the moves, so you must time everything well. Your health meter is to the left of the energy meter and also depending on which character you choose, it is smaller, or larger.

The controls work very well except for a few minor points. The barrel roll is something that you will be doing constantly, and when you move your stylus the way you have to in order to execute it, it interferes with aiming and steering. So, it is very difficult to do a barrel roll and take the offensive at once, but if you play log enough, you will get the hang of it. Locking onto enemies is a huge plus, but not everyone has the ability. If you lock on long enough, you can lock on 2X, 3X, and MAX, which will increase in damage exponentially. You can also hit a button on the touch screen to do a flip in the air and go in the same direction, which will throw enemies off your tail, and a flip to go in the opposite direction, which is good for a faster U-Turn. Another way to do a fast turn around is to put your stylus all the way into the bottom left corner or bottom right corner of the touch screen. This is useful if your out of energy or if you want to circle your opponent.


Characters
There are tons of characters in StarFox and almost all of them are playable. With a little work, you can unlock up to 15 characters, including Fox, Falco, Slippy, Krystal, Peppy, James McCloud, Lucy, Dash, Bill, Katt, Wolf, Panther, Leon, and Amanda. Many of the characters are veterans, however some are brand new. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, some characters can lock on to enemies, some can't. Some can lock onto multiple enemies, and one can lock onto every enemy on the screen. Different characters have varying health levels and different levels of power in their lasers. Some can also carry up to 3 bombs, while others can hold only one.


Multiple Playthroughs
There are 9 different endings to StarFox Command. All of them tell different stories and allow you to play as different characters. The first time through the game will only take about 2-3 hours at most, and you only get to play a fraction of the game's 33 stages. Attaining every ending is no small feat and will probably take close to 30-40 hours. The game never gets old and is hardly repetitive so you won't mind playing it over to unlock more. The first time through will really only teach you the controls. Only once you have mastered them will you get everything out of the game. The first play through, I didn't know about the barrel roll, the 2X,3X, and MAX locks, perfects, or of extreme turns, so the game became more enjoyable after that.


Multiplayer
The game allows for up to 6 people to engage in a download play battle. Options are very limited and you all use the same arwing. In Wi-Fi you go head to head with up to 3 other people. It is pretty simple, though. There is no voice chat, typing to each other, and no choosing your arwing or character. You just get placed in a random arena, collect power ups, and fight. You can also engage in a practice match that will not count towards your record. Wi-Fi is a nice addition, but it could have been so much more...


Overall - Strengths
This is definitely one of the many must-haves for the DS. If you are on the fence about getting this game, you definitely should get it and if you didn't like the old StarFox games, this new edition may gain your approval.

-The graphics are stunning, control is very precise, there are tons of unlockables, tons of replay value, and Wi-Fi.
-The music is fantastic, bringing back some familiar tunes, as well as may new ones.
-It is also rumble pack compatible and download play compatible, which are two huge pluses. The game becomes addicting and you really want to get all the levels, high scores, perfects, etc. This game will keep you busy for a while.

Overall - Negatives
The game is not perfect, and there are a couple of things that you can not overlook.

-The story is absolutely atrocious. I haven't seen a worse story from Nintendo in ages. No, I have never seen such a bad story. I think Nintendo realized this too, because at the top of every part where the characters talk in between missions, it says, "skip." Nintendo games very rarely allow you to skip through cut scenes or parts of the story. The only incentive to unlock all 9 endings is so that you can play all the levels and say, "I got all 9 endings." You just stop paying attention to the story and all the horrible dialogue after a while.
-The barrel roll gets in that way of steering and shooting, but with practice you can fix this.
-The character designs are terrible. The characters have huge heads, and look kind of cartoony. The old character designs from Adventures, and Assault would have been much better.


Overall Score

9.2/10