Perhaps!  I have to admit, so far it sounds fresh and original, although only time will tell if it's really worth it.  Here's the official synopsis:

"The legendary general Yamanouchi Kagetora, intent on avenging his father’s death, has devised 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 soldiers out of the Odama’s way and into the fray, and prove that they have the skills to back up the power of the Odama."

If anyone has played this (I think it already saw a release in Japan, but maybe I'm mistaken) or knows more about it, I would be curious to hear what you're impressions are! 

cheers,

-avatar!

It wasn't out yet in Japan as of this past week, unless everyone was sold out of the thing and no one had a display box out.  Granted, maybe I just didn't manage to see copies in the stores considering 80% of Akihabara's shelf space for games was converted into Final Fantasy XII display boxes.  After spending three days in Tokyo showing friends around, I NEVER WANT TO HEAR KISS ME GOODBYE AGAIN.  EVER.  EVER EVER EVER.  You'd think that it would be possible to escape the song if one simply left the electronics district.  No such luck.  Every single store, every single mall, every single kiosk... all playing that damn song.

Woo, tangent.  Anyway, Odama looks reeeeeeeally iffy to me.  I'm all for new and creative ideas, but this one sounds less like "we've got a cool new idea for something fresh" and more like "let's make something new by combining genres that have no business going together."  If I hear a lot of positive word of mouth, I may check it out, but I'm certainly not sinking $50 into a game that involves pinball (a genre that entertains me for 30 seconds at most at a time) and strategy (a genre that I've tried repeatedly to get into and has never clicked with me). 

If someone gets the game, please do post your impressions here.

Odama is not out in Japan yet.  Last time I checked, I think it comes out in America first.  Anyway, the game is freaking weird (which should be expected given the developer, but still).  And I don't mean good weird like Katamari Damacy or Chibi Robo.  I mean just plain weird.  Basically, you try to get your soldiers to the other side of the map by clearing away enemy encampments and soldiers with a gigantic pinball.  The main problem with this is that the pinball will kill your soldiers too.  There are power-ups you can get that will allow you to get enemy soldiers to switch sides and you can use the microphone to tell your soldiers what to do. 

I played the game at two consecutive shows (2004 and 2005) and even though I wanted to like it, I could never get into it.  Maybe if you sit down with it for a couple hours and really dig into it it'll make more sense.  That said, based on what I've played, I can't recommend it, especially not for Nintendo's obscene $50 price tag.  Definitely try before you buy.

Yoot Saito is why I'm so tempted; and I can't wait to see what Vivarium has in plan for the DS.  It's a ridiculous shame that their Tower SP wasn't Tower DS instead. 

Anyway, back to Odama, Nintendo Power's review gave it an 8.5 and the guy really talked it up.  I'm not sure why, but I think I'll bite and give it a shot.  After Tetris DS I have nothing else to buy until 4/25 (Ace Combat Zero).

Speaking of Nintendo Power, they claim to have some big exclusive next month; this is their teaser:  "WORLD EXCLUSIVE  As mysterious as a new moon, the follow-up to one of 2005's best DS titles is a whip-smart adventure that you won't want to miss."  Castlevania DS 2?

The biggest scoop of the year so far will also be their cover, whatever that will be.

Sure sounds like Castlevania DS 2.  I would expect it to be playable at E3, so now should be the right time for magazines to be seeing it.

Hmmm... if this is the issue that will be shipping to subscriber's houses at the end of April (the June issue I guess), it can't be anything too shocking because it would released before E3.  I guess we'll find out soon enough.

I'll be the first to say that I have no idea what Vivarium has or hasn't done with Sim Tower, but it was very boring as a PC game, so other than being a rare, tough to find GBA title, I'm not sure why it's getting a sort of underground buzz going.

I never played the game before; it sounds like a good concept and would probably benefit from being remade for the DS' two-screens.  According to Sega's site, the game is only sold at Toys R Us, for some reason.  Vivarium supposedly originally made the PC game from what I heard.