Voodoo Vince is the latest entry into the crowded platforming genre, but what the titular character lacks in tenure, he more than makes up for in personality and gumption. The third best voodoo doll of high priestess Madam Charmaine, our ten-inch hero has his work cut out for him when wanna-be world conqueror Kosmo the Inscrutable and his two goons, Jeb and Fingers, kidnap Madame Charmaine and steal her magically potent zombie dust, both of which he hopes to use to take over the world. But, as bumbling villains are wont to do in capers such as this, much of the zombie dust was scattered in the theft, resulting in the bringing to life of many things that were best left inanimate. Luckily for the world, and more specifically Madame Charmaine, Vince has also been brought to life by the zombie dust, and it is now his mission to stop Kosmo’s dastardly plans and rescue the high priestess. Will Vince succeed? Is he made of stern enough stuffing? Take the controls and find out for yourself.

One of the most unique cities in the world, a city that has a flavor and atmosphere you can’t find anywhere else on Earth, is New Orleans, Louisiana. A mixture of French, Spanish, Caribbean, and Native American influences, New Orleans has a colourful heritage to say the least, and today it is world renowned for its Jazz, its Creole cooking, and its festivals. One other aspect of New Orleans, one that might not be so well known, is its history with Voodoo that began in the early 1800’s. Marie Laveau, otherwise known as the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, was probably its most popular and prominent figure, and she resides in the city to this day, in a mausoleum in St. Louis Cemetery #1.

And so it is to New Orleans that we go in Voodoo Vince, a game that utilises all of the best and most entertaining aspects of the city to its advantage. The game starts off in a fictionalized version of New Orleans’s French Quarter, where Madame Charmaine’s shop is located. From there you will jump and float and fight your way across locations as diverse as an underground laboratory, a cemetery, a haunted mansion, a demented circus gone amok, as well as dipping down south a bit to the bayou for some serious swamp-blasting action, amongst other strange and wondrous places.

Voodoo Vince’s graphics are a visual treat, with particle effects aplenty and nicely detailed textures all around and a solid frame rate. All of the buildings and other structures are dreamlike in their design, with many slants and tilts to confuse the eye and draw you into the warped reality Beep is trying to create. Vince’s animations are smooth and varied, though those of the enemies you’ll face are average at best, most reduced to simple hops and scurries. A nice blend of colours suffuses the screen on many levels, though the palette does tend to veer toward the dark side, though that is fitting considering the macabre locations and tones. All in all, nice, but nothing to shake the rafters.

Sonically, though, the game is incredibly strong, with the highlight being the music. Scored and arranged by Steve Kirk, a renowned Jazz musician and composer, the game’s toe-tapping score is a delightful mixture of jazz, zydeco, and jazz/rock fusion. Each level and area has its own unique music that greatly helps to develop the ambiance of the game, but all of it fits together seamlessly and never seems out of place or gets tiring on the ears. The voice work is satisfactory on the main. Vince’s voice is deeper than you might expect, but it works in the long run, unlike Kosmo, whose squeaky threats get dull rather quickly. Environmental sounds, all output in Dolby Digital, work very well. Beep Industries certainly deserves high marks for their attention to sound detail.

Controlling Vince as he runs and leaps across the various levels is a very tight affair, which is a good thing considering the brutal maps he will face, many of them requiring nothing but absolute precision to navigate successfully. This is especially evident later in the game where the difficulty level shoots through the roof as skittish platforms move along every axis and obstacles come to you instead of waiting around. Using the left thumbstick to move Vince about, and the right to adjust the camera (which, thankfully, is perfect and easy to use), the sensitivity is spot on. Vince can, using the A button, jump and double jump, and he can slow his descent with a float function mapped to the L trigger. Y allows him to pick up various objects, and X activates switches and other mechanisms. There is also a first person view when you need to see the world from ten inches up. Combat is handled via a Spin Move that does little damage, a Head Stomp that does a bit more, and a Punch that really lays out the hurt. Each hit causes an opponent to spew Mardi Gras beads that Vince can use to power himself up. All in all, the little guy has some moves. For a doll, that is.

But top billing must go to Vince’s Voodoo Powers, which is the game’s main draw, and what most people can’t wait to see in action. Sadly, Vince’s Voodoo attacks amount to little more than localized death fields, and that is a real shame. There are 30 different Voodoo Powers at his disposal that you’ll acquire over the course of the game, though all of them boil down to nothing more than different animations that all do the same thing, which is to kill all of the enemies around Vince within a decently sized radius. The animations themselves, which range from a meat cleaver down the middle to a Chicago mob-style drive-by, are certainly entertaining to watch, for the first dozen times or so, but they eventually grow rather old, and which animation you get is completely random, so you’ll invariably see the same ones repeatedly. Boss battles also centre around the fact that Vince is a Voodoo doll, with the means of killing them lying in figuring out how to hurt himself in the given environment. Entertaining, but not as innovative as it could have been. Hopefully, if Vince gets a chance at a sequel, Beep Industries will work to implement a more varied and imaginative Voodoo Power system. Harming himself to harm others is a nice trick, and unquestionably unique, but it could have been more.

As things stand, Voodoo Vince is an enjoyable, though fairly standard platformer, but one that has a great amount of charm to it. You’ll spend an average of 15 or so hours running around, collecting power-ups and items, jumping from high ledges to other high ledges, and fending off beasties along the way. That isn’t very long, especially for a game that has little in way of replay value, but the variety of environments and bosses will make those hours seem much longer. There are a variety of vehicles that you will use, from a saddled rat to a fishing lure submarine to a swamp boat and more, and all of them are fun to drive and help to break up the constant running and leaping. Combat isn’t difficult at all, especially when the Voodoo Powers are employed, but the only real highlights are the bosses, which at least require some thought in beating. There are also a few puzzle solving segments, and they bring a smile to the face, though few tax the brain too harshly. Vince is a very entertaining fellow to watch, and given time and effort he could easily join the pantheon of platforming legends, but more work will need to be done. Still, his first game is a strong foundation to build on, so the future could be a bright one for our favorite little doll of pain.