<![CDATA[ novogamer.com ]]> en 2026-04-07 04:31:30 https://novogamer.com/build/assets/mark-CcUbJs0V.png Novogamer Logo https://novogamer.com 150 135 <![CDATA[Lost in Obscurity: Odama]]> https://novogamer.com/articles/lost-in-obscurity-odama-ZDYg0wdJQE I'm sure a lot of you know by now that it is no surprise that I love Nintendo games. There is something about their unique charm and enthralling gameplay that keeps my inner child alive and well. But there was one game Nintendo produced near the end of the Game Cube's life span that had nearly killed my inner child and left it on life support. That title was the astoundingly difficult Odama.

Developed by Yoot Saito of Seaman fame and released in the US on April 10, 2006, Odama was a hodgepodge game combining the gameplay of pinball with RTS elements that are done via voice commands by use of the included microphone. Either of these gameplay styles are absolutely fine on their own, but when combined, it creates one of the most frustratingly challenging multitasking experiences that I have ever played. What makes this game truly unusual though is not only the gameplay, but also the fact that the game is set in feudal Japan and the ball used is a giant cannonball called an odama, or "great ball." It's not hard to see why this game had fallen to the wayside.

The pinball portion of the gameplay is relatively simple enough. You aim the cannon to where you want to fire the odama and you use the shoulder buttons to activate the flippers and the control stick to tilt the field. The ball can be used to destroy and/or knock down pieces of the environment or to collect power-ups, but while pinball as a whole is usually self explanatory, the voice commanded troops that you order around with the microphone is a much more complicated task and was the result of a lot rage that I had when playing it.

The troops are your main means of getting a large bronze bell from your side of the field toward the back gate so you can proceed to the next stage. Once again, by itself, this sounds fairly easy enough, but you also have that big freaking cannonball to worry about, and it CAN kill your soldiers if you aren't paying attention. However, if you can find it, there is a power-up that can help with this. If your odama is glowing green, not only will it not flatten your army, but it will also turn any enemy soldier that you crush over to your side. This is often necessary as adding more troops to the field will raise your army's morale making them more likely to follow the orders you will eventually and inevitably scream into the microphone.

If it wasn't already hard enough that these two gameplay elements were clashing head to head with each other, there is one last one that pushes the difficulty over the threshold from being reasonably fun and challenging to being a hair pulling nightmare. Each and every level in the game has a VERY strict time limit that results in an INSTANT loss regardless of how many odamas you have left. This time limit bullcrap is the reason why I was unable to legitimately get past the eighth board, otherwise known as The Spider Temple.

While this game is extraordinarily hard, I don't at all hate it. Its challenge is excruciating, yes, but it more than makes up for its short length. It reminds me of those old NES games that were short but had enough challenge to make it worth it. All in all, I suggest you try this game out if you're looking for a legitimately challenging game that is guaranteed to make you rage. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score:

]]> ZDYg0wdJQE Thu, 02 Apr 2015 09:41:00 +0000 <![CDATA[Review: Shadow Warrior ( Very Minor Spoilers)]]> https://novogamer.com/articles/review-shadow-warrior-very-minor-spoilers-al1OEK0Gge

Basis


Shadow Warrior is a wonderful ride through humor and gut wrenching fun where you play as the geeky lovable mercenary Lo Wang, working currently as one ofOrochi Zilla's right hand and reliable mercenaries' with his new side kick Hoji, a demon banished from his home world. Together combining both of Hoji's demon magic and Lo Wang's amazing katana mastery, they power their way through the demon hordes in this unlikely duo's journey for the Nobitsura Kage.

Game-play



Game-play in shadow warrior is quite fun. You can hack hack slash and shoot just about anything in the entire game and, yes the demons of course! you will obtain more weapons through out your adventure, such a the quad barrel shotgun. all of these attainable weapons all have upgrades to make these weapons even stronger than they already are but, be careful with your cash you will not be able to upgrade everything just like in previous games like Bioshock. When in combat your are scored for every move you make and how that move effects your enemy's body. So for example if you pull out your revolver and score a flawless head shot on a standard demon you shall be rewarded with more karma which is used to upgrade Wang's combat abilities (but not Hoji's demon attributes). Combat is broken down into;

  • Small Encounters
  • Large Encounters

  • Boss Fights
Small encounters are when you are usually are exploring a given area and you just so happen to run into a couple of demons eating or thrashing at a corpse, dancing around , and even having a hot tub party in a pool of blood. Large encounters start the same as the small encounters but later more demons are summoned to the area. This is where the game can get quite punishing. You now are not just gaining points by your skills but, now you are being graded on your overall performance by a five star system by mixing up combat and doing it swiftly. To note all of the music playing when this is happening is pretty friggin neato. You may want to use your katana the most along with Hoji's demon abilities. Hoji's demon powers are a wonderful addition to the combat in Shadow Warrior. Hoji gives you the ability to heal, shield, push back, and throw your enemies. All of these powers can be upgraded with a collectible called Ki Crystals. These Crystals are usually in semi-visible environment where you have to figure out a path that would lead you to that given area. Getting the these crystals will greatly help you in your quest to get a better score in combat which will later lead to higher karma score's so you can greater up grade Lo Wang's abilities. The final segment of combat is yes, the notorious Boss Fights. All the boss fights in Shadow Warrior are quite the same actually, besides their own combat abilities. you are presented with a VERY VERY large opponent and you have to shoot parts of their armor the reveal a weak spot and you should shoot at it with your strongest weapon you own at that moment to quickly destroy one of 5 weak spots until the boss is dead. There are 3 key parts to mastering game-play in Shadow Warrior.

  1. Exploration
  2. Scavenging
  3. ADT (attention to detail)
All of these three things are important, why? SECRETS! Lots and lots of them. There are lots of Easter Eggs to showcase a lot of Devolver Digital's other game's such as Hotline Miami, Serious Sam, and even the classic Shadow Warrior. all of these little Easter Eggenvironmentsmost of the time have lots money and sometimes karma pools which are just pots of boiling blood which reward you with a large amount of karma when discovered. OH! And if it's any bonus, rabbits have sex often and when their doing the do take a swing at them with your sword and see what happens.

Story

(This is where the very minor spoilers I mentioned are at)

Shadow Warrior's story is quite good actually. It's Riveting, Interesting, and Mysterious everything you need for a well built up story to have a very satisfying ending that may bring a tear to your eye. The game starts you off in Wang's car jamming to the Transformer's hit "The Touch" by Stan Bush with Wang singing along getting ready to do a job forOrochi Zillawho own's a very large billion dollar company that owns and monopolize most of the world's products and is now searching for a fabled sword called theNobitsura Kage. Lo Wang's job is simple get the sword no matter what the "cost" in that case money or blood. after these beginning events the offer for the sword is obviously refused (what would you expect?). Later after fighting a horde of yakuza thugs you were trying to buy the sword from capture you and cage you outdoors, demons end up spawning and killing the yakuza. After escaping you have and encounter with the hilarious demon Hoji who will be you new companion through out that rest of the game. Together from that point you find out there are 3 different swords under the nameNobitsura Kage and are being moved around earth by these puppet creatures called Whisperers and all are required to complete the sword and bring it to it's true power this sword basically has the properties of the Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda series. No living demon can touch it. EVER. The blade of demons' bane in the sense can quite come in handy in a demon apocalypse. This is basically the Current plot of Shadow Warrior. Throughout the game you find out a bit more back story about Hoji and why he was banished and who his fellow demon brethren are (just brace yourself it's a true WTF moment for sure). Overall Shadow Warrior's story is awesome. Really. It's Honestly a lot more great than it sounds it's just something you would have to experience for yourself.

Closing Statement


Overall, Shadow Warrior is a hell of a lot of fun and really deserves a lot more credit that what it has received over the course of all most two years since it's first release on PC. The game hits it all. Shadow Warrior plays with your emotions makes you laugh and could at times make you feel like an absolute badass and, I would STRONGLY recommend this game to any one who enjoys first person action with a deep and meaning full story with lovable and interesting characters. FINAL SCORE: 4.5/5

\r ]]> al1OEK0Gge Sat, 18 Apr 2015 03:38:00 +0000