Mix all the intensity of classic pinball with the sights, sounds, and savagery of war and what do you get? Odama -- the first pinball game that throws you into the midst of mighty clashes between armies on boards laid out like chaotic battlefields. Use the flippers to send Odama -- the giant pinball -- to destroy the enemy's barracks and turrets. Hit enemy soldiers with the ball to make them join your ranks, dam rivers, liberate extra flippers, and clear the way to the enemy's gate.

Odama, from development studio Vivarium (best known for Seaman on Dreamcast) and Nintendo, is something of an enigma both in concept and in execution. The title's premise usually effects the same response, which is, simply, "huh?" It's not surprising. After all, the game marries the core mechanics of pinball with real-time strategy elements and spins everything to a backdrop involving medieval Japan. A giant metal ball, the Odama, rolls through and over mountainous regions, destroying structures and flattening soldiers. That's right… huh? And if it didn't sound strange enough already, Vivarium has packed the title with a GameCube microphone that players use to command their armies.