In the game, you are in command of a vast army. Even though you'll be commanding many troops, your most powerful weapon is the Odama, a giant sphere that rolls over an crushes anything in its path -- friend or foe. As each stage begins, a group of your men appear at the bottom of the screen carrying a giant bell. The goal is to clear a path so that they can escort the bell to the top of the screen and into the enemy's fortress.
The enemy army won't just let your men march through their gates, however. They'll swarm down the screen and attack, forcing the bell carriers back. If they're forced back to the bottom of the screen, it's game over. To assist your men, you can launch the Odama onto the battlefield. By using the flippers at the bottom of the screen, you can send the ball rolling through the enemy forces. Just try to keep it away from your men. You can also tilt the playing field to alter the Odama's course once it's in play. Like a pinball game, you'll lose the Odama if it falls between the flippers.
You'll also need to command your army to combat the advancing invaders. This is done by speaking into the GameCube microphone (like the one that came with Mario Party 6 which, thanks to a special attachment, is attached to your controller. Bark orders like "charge," "left," and "right" to make your army dodge the Odama and plow through the enemy troops, clearing a way for your bell boys. As you play, you'll learn more advanced voice commands to give you greater control over your army.
You may feel a little odd yelling into your controller, but once you get into the swing of things, it's actually quite satisfying ordering a huge around. The giant, rolling ball just adds and extra layer of excitement and danger. Right now, Nintendo lists the release date as TBA, so here's hoping that the company doesn't let this one fall off the radar. The game industry needs oddball games like this once in a while to shake things up.
