Nintendo gets a lot of credit for bringing Elite Beat Agents to the U.S. Inspired by the popular Japanese game Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, the DS Lite rhythm game delivers a challenging yet accessible experience, set to a soundtrack that includes everyone from the Rolling Stones to Avril Lavigne.

Players enter a cartoony 3-D world where they can visit certain locations to assist people screaming for help. A troupe of CIA-like agents is around to get the group moving. By tapping on those locations, they'll get a small profile of the person/animal/philosophy in need of their music skills. A small comic-panel story starts up, and they're tossed into the action to try and help resolve the problem.

Resolving the problem means tapping and dragging the stylus in time with the music and based on where icons appear on the touch screen. An orange circle will appear, then another, then one more, and it's the player's job to hit those circles at the right time (designated by when a ring around that circle is about to connect with it).

As long as the player hits the circles on the right beat (sometimes dragging from one part of the screen to another), the Elite Beat Agents will continue with their funky choreography in the background. If things get screwed up, the rhythm meter at the top of the screen will deplete, the agents will start tripping up their steps and the agents will soon be out of work.

Beginning with a choice between two difficulty levels, anyone can pick this up and play at the easiest level (that's why Elite Beat Agents is also a Touch Generations title for gamers of all ages and skill levels). The medium difficulty level has slightly faster beats, and the two unlockable difficulty levels throw everything at the player at a maddening pace. The same songs play in all the levels, but the story that would take 50 taps to pass will now take 250, and there's no slowing down once it gets going.

Songs like the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and Jamiroquai's "Canned Heat" (made famous by that dancing scene in Napoleon Dynamite) get the feet tapping. When the songs are catchy, the experience is unparalleled.

Not all of the songs are great, though that depends on personal preference. Madonna's "Material Girl" apparently hasn't overstayed its welcome, at least in Nintendo's eyes. Plus, the generic mishmash of songs just doesn't seem as much fun as Ouendan's J-pop soundtrack, which is a shame considering the wealth of artists looking for some airplay.

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