Joystiq: Boogie a 'casual, unfocused Elite Beat Agents'

Joystiq spent some time with EA's handheld-ized version of Boogie, and found that it's still directly targeted at casual gamers, and that rhythm gamers spoiled on the difficulty of Elite Beat Agents may not be interested.

While Zack Stern found the dragging motions more natural as simulated dance moves than, say, the button presses of EBA, he hinted that the difficulty wasn't there, saying that "Boogie's lower risk and lower reward pitches it to new players." One mode in particular, Copycat, rewards accurate imitation of dance moves, without regard for rhythm. There are more traditional timing-based game modes as well, however.

Some of the ancillary features, like drawing decals on character clothing, might help give the game some longer life, as could the multiplayer. Overall, the impressions seemed positive, with the constant reminder that it's for casual audiences only.