Elite Beat Agents grooving to Europe

At this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Keiichi Yano, cofounder of iNiS Corporation, the makers of Elite Beat Agents, revealed that the original Japanese version of the game would be getting a sequel. Fans of the game were undoubtedly pleased, although gamers in Europe were still wondering whether or not the original would be seen in their countries at all.

Better late than never. Eight months after the game's November release in the US, Nintendo has announced that the wacky rhythm game will be landing in Europe on July 13. The estimated retail price will be around £30 (44 euros).

Elite Beat Agents was a western remake of the very Japanese Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, originally released on the DS in Japan in July 2005. Elite Beat Agents, while staying faithful to the original, made such changes as adding a pop music soundtrack, including songs by Avril Lavigne, David Bowie, and Destiny's Child.

The Elite Beat Agents are a group of men and women in black who combat a variety of emergency situations by dancing. The agents are controlled by tapping on the touch screen in time to the music, topping up an 'elite-o-meter.' If the elite-o-meter is emptied because too many markers have been missed, the mission is a failure and players must try again.

For more information on Elite Beat Agents, read GameSpot's full review.