Nintendo News | Elite Beat Agents Set to Take Over Europe

Nintendo has finally re-confirmed the arrival of Elite Beat Agents here in Europe, along with news of what songs will be made available in this edition. The game will have you and your friends tapping your Touch Screen as you endeavour to save the day with your canny use of rhythm. Providing the perfect soundtrack to the summer, Elite Beat Agents launches on the Nintendo DS on 13th July 2007. Set in a fantastical version of the real world, Elite Beat Agents features ordinary people in a variety of crazy situations ranging from directing a movie to painting a 15th Century masterpiece. As their situations take a turn for the worse, a group of special agents known as the Elite Beat Agents are summoned to rescue the day using their musical skills. The main mode in Elite Beat Agents features 19 different songs including ones made popular by Sum 41, Avril Lavigne, Freddie Mercury, Ashlee Simpson, David Bowie, Destiny's Child and many others for you to tap along to (in other words 'not sung by the original artists').

Overseeing the Elite Beat Agents is Commander Khan who monitors the emergency waves for people in need of help and delegates the work to one of his four teams of agents. These teams vary in abilities, the hardest jobs being given to the most skilled agents and vice versa. Players control their Agents and save the day by tapping the Touch Screen as directed in time with the music playing. But they only have a few verses in which to complete each mission. Every time the player successfully touches the markers that appear on screen, the 'elite-o-meter' is topped up. If this bar is completely emptied during a song, then the agent has failed in their musical mission and players must start again. There are three types of markers that the player must watch out for: Hit markers, Phrase markers and Spin markers, all of which require the players to tap or draw out the rhythm with their stylus as the on-screen prompt appears. In the game's Single Player Mode there are many different levels to play through, each with a different sound track. The difficulty of each level is denoted by which Agent comes to the rescue, with a selection of four to choose from. After a particularly impressive performance, players can view and save their routine, to share with friends or use in the game's multiplayer mode.

In Multiplayer Mode, up to four players can utilise the DS's local wireless connection to challenge their friends in a head-to-head dance off. In this mode, whoever finishes with the fullest elite-o-meter when the song ends is the winner. But if this isn't challenging enough, players with game cards can save their best performance and use it to set the standard their opponent must meet! This game will see players honing their sense of rhythm whilst saving the day to a soundtrack of different contemporary songs. Join in the fun when Elite Beat Agent grooves its way into shops across Europe on 13th July at an estimated retail price of around