Spigot
07-12-2009, 07:59 PM
Hey there, pinball fans! Get ready to cross flippers with your strategy brethren as we pull back the plunger on this week's selection for Turning The Spigot, your source for overlooked and obscure games!
Odama
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3484/3713072301_16e6f83737_o.jpg
Year: 2006
Platform: Gamecube
Rating: Tilt!
# of Players: 1
Odama is one of the strangest games I've ever played and that's saying something. It comes across as the result of a planning meeting that had a few too many rounds of sake added to the mix. This game makes the Katamari Damacy games look downright normal.
So here's the basic premise. You play as the general of an tiny army in feudal Japan who is on a mission to avenge your father's betrayal by the leader of overwhelming forces. To aid you in your quest for victory, you happen to be a follower of the mysterious ways of Ninten-Do you have to launch a giant metal ball (the titular Odama) out into the field of battle. Wait, what? Yes, you play a game of pinball to help defeat your enemies while directing troops across the map. Did I mention that you direct your troops with voice commands? Odama is nothing if not ambitious, even if the end result leaves a lot to be desired.
The main thrust of the game has you sending your army marching from the bottom of the screen to the top as they carry a giant bell. While they can defend themselves, your primary attack is to crush all that gets in your way with the giant Odama ball. Unfortunately for you, the Odama does not distinguish between friend or foe. An errant flip of the paddle can send it careening through your infantry instead of the enemies, leaving you wide open to attack and likely failure. You can 'tilt the table', so to speak, and nudge the Odama out of the way if you're lucky, but there is a very high risk to reward ratio that comes into play during the game.
While leading your army to victory while a giant metal ball crushes all that gets in its way is daunting at the best of times, Odama makes things even more challenging by relying on voice commands to control your army. By using the mic that comes with the game, you will be barking orders such as 'move left', 'move right' and 'forward' as the chaos mounts around you. It's not the most elegant approach to a strategy game and the rather flaky voice recognition is the biggest let-down of the game. Unfortunately, Odama came out a little too early. Voice recognition on the level of Endwar's voice command system is what Odama really needed. There are just too many instances of your army ignoring your frantic orders or doing the opposite, which inevitably leads to your downfall when they wander into the path of the oncoming Odama.
Complaints about the voice commands aside, Odama is nothing if not unique. The mission objectives often involve manipulating things on the map (ie. opening floodgates to wash away enemy troops) and the sheer chaos can be entertaining to watch. The graphics won't win any awards but they do convey a nice sense of being on the battlefield in feudal Japan and the cinematics try to ape traditional woodcuts and period paintings. In fact, the sheer earnestness that Odama treats its subject material with in the face of absurdity makes it even more endearing.
9CLWrtDFOS4
Like a peanut butter and tuna sandwich, Odama is a mash-up of two disparate things that likely won't appeal to very many people. It is by no means a great game, but it is an ambitious one. The failings of the voice commands in particular really hold it back from the pantheon of great quirky games, but it is a game that anyone interested in obscure games really owes it to themselves to at least try it once.
Odama
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3484/3713072301_16e6f83737_o.jpg
Year: 2006
Platform: Gamecube
Rating: Tilt!
# of Players: 1
Odama is one of the strangest games I've ever played and that's saying something. It comes across as the result of a planning meeting that had a few too many rounds of sake added to the mix. This game makes the Katamari Damacy games look downright normal.
So here's the basic premise. You play as the general of an tiny army in feudal Japan who is on a mission to avenge your father's betrayal by the leader of overwhelming forces. To aid you in your quest for victory, you happen to be a follower of the mysterious ways of Ninten-Do you have to launch a giant metal ball (the titular Odama) out into the field of battle. Wait, what? Yes, you play a game of pinball to help defeat your enemies while directing troops across the map. Did I mention that you direct your troops with voice commands? Odama is nothing if not ambitious, even if the end result leaves a lot to be desired.
The main thrust of the game has you sending your army marching from the bottom of the screen to the top as they carry a giant bell. While they can defend themselves, your primary attack is to crush all that gets in your way with the giant Odama ball. Unfortunately for you, the Odama does not distinguish between friend or foe. An errant flip of the paddle can send it careening through your infantry instead of the enemies, leaving you wide open to attack and likely failure. You can 'tilt the table', so to speak, and nudge the Odama out of the way if you're lucky, but there is a very high risk to reward ratio that comes into play during the game.
While leading your army to victory while a giant metal ball crushes all that gets in its way is daunting at the best of times, Odama makes things even more challenging by relying on voice commands to control your army. By using the mic that comes with the game, you will be barking orders such as 'move left', 'move right' and 'forward' as the chaos mounts around you. It's not the most elegant approach to a strategy game and the rather flaky voice recognition is the biggest let-down of the game. Unfortunately, Odama came out a little too early. Voice recognition on the level of Endwar's voice command system is what Odama really needed. There are just too many instances of your army ignoring your frantic orders or doing the opposite, which inevitably leads to your downfall when they wander into the path of the oncoming Odama.
Complaints about the voice commands aside, Odama is nothing if not unique. The mission objectives often involve manipulating things on the map (ie. opening floodgates to wash away enemy troops) and the sheer chaos can be entertaining to watch. The graphics won't win any awards but they do convey a nice sense of being on the battlefield in feudal Japan and the cinematics try to ape traditional woodcuts and period paintings. In fact, the sheer earnestness that Odama treats its subject material with in the face of absurdity makes it even more endearing.
9CLWrtDFOS4
Like a peanut butter and tuna sandwich, Odama is a mash-up of two disparate things that likely won't appeal to very many people. It is by no means a great game, but it is an ambitious one. The failings of the voice commands in particular really hold it back from the pantheon of great quirky games, but it is a game that anyone interested in obscure games really owes it to themselves to at least try it once.