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Odama Info - Gamecube

11th November 2005, 5:18pm
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 The yong general Yamanouchi Kagetora, intent on avenging his father's death, has revived the most ingenious weapon ever to hit the medieval battlefield: the Odama, a gigantic ball powerful enough to destroy whatever it strikes, friend or foe. Players use the Nintendo GameCube Mic to direct their soldiers out of the Odama's way and into the fray, and prove that they have the skill to back up the power of the Odama. That's right, it's an RTS pinball game controlled with a microphone! Nintendo's loves creating new genres!

Using giant flippers, players aim the giant Odama ball to bowl over enemies, shatter their defenses and wreak havoc on the battlefield. With the microphone, players command men to charge the enemy, defend positions, seize the enemy gates and much more.

A main character in Odama is Yamanouchi Kagetora, a young general struggling to avenge his clan and preserve the Way of Ninten (cough...), a philosophy that puts the greater good above the individual's needs. With this philosophy to guide him, he finds that his individual soldiers can band together to create a force strong enough to defeat even the most powerful enemy, here a general named Genshin who killed his father. Kagetora exacts his revenge, using only limited resources against a vast army. One of these resources is a sacred object protected by his clan: a legendary weapon called the Odama.

The Odama itself is a gigantic ball that rolls across the battlefield, pulverizing anything in its path, friend or foe. Between the two flippers, the commander stands guard, hacking down any soldiers who attempt to pass. The army of soldiers carries items and obeys a player's every order, so long as loyalty can be maintained. The L and R buttons control the flippers, which operate exactly like those in any pinball game: they smack the Odama back into the battlefield, directing it into targets and away from soldiers. Players also can tilt the battlefield, allowing them to alter the course of the Odama once they've hit it into the fray. By using the microphone, players can direct soldiers by giving voice commands to them. The goal is to shatter the enemy gates with the Odama and direct a crew of men carrying a giant bell to pass through the opened gates. Players' soldiers will defend their crew and seize enemy positions to protect their men on the mission.

By holding down the X button on the controller, players activate the microphone. There is a vast array of commands that Odama can understand, allowing players to order their soldiers to charge through the enemy ranks, retreat, line up in formation or carry items, just to name a few.

Wacky, but surprisingly appealing.
by Nick Schaedel » Author's Blog