Voodoo Vince

"Voodoo Vince is One-of-a-Kind"

Wielding only his Voodoo magic Vince must leave him home in the French Quarter to rescue his boss Madame Charmaine from the vile clutches of Cosmo the Inscrutable and his many minions of evil.

Gameplay
As the name implies you play as Vince a 10’’ voodoo doll on a mission. Throughout the course of the game you will cross six extremely unique worlds ranging from Louisiana’s French Quarter to the Brusque’s haunted manor house. In each level you will encounter a creative assortment of monsters to battle with including Pit Frogs, Evil Gingerbread Men, and Killadillo’s… half bomb-half armadillo. As Vince you can call upon over 25 different types of Voodoo attack’s to dispatch these foes including everything from a simple pinprick in the head to running with scissors. However, Vince is not limited purely to Voodoo attack’s he can also perform a three-punch combo, an aerial head smash and a 360 degree spin move… each very simple to execute and highly effective.

The gameplay in broken up into major sections… levels, vehicles, and boss fights… each level is very open containing many secret areas to find and often times multiple side paths to explore. Many of Vince’s 35+ levels are also a gigantic puzzle within themselves, which makes for a very unique style of gameplay. In addition to completing the goals for each level you can also collect Extra Lives, Magic Voodoo Dust, and Scroll pages… to unlock a power skull, each power skull you collect allows Vince store more Voodoo attack’s.

Another key element of gameplay is the incorporation of vehicles into many of Vince’s levels and boss fights. You will be given the chance to pilot a Rocket Plane, Rodent, and Submarine. Many of these are integral parts of the level while some more resembling mini-games. These mini-games while not optional provide the perfect break from standard gameplay often coming right after a particularly heave puzzle or platform segment. During several of the games boss fight you will also need to use one of the games vehicles to aid the battle.

The boss battles in Voodoo Vince are each unique different and usually involve Vince using the environment to his advantage. Unlike many games where you simple wait for the boss to flash and then attack, Vince will have you avidly planning your strategies before jumping into the fray. Which is not as easy as it sounds because each boss will have you using your head to figure a way past them, commonly forcing you to multitask between strong puzzle-like elements and avoiding multiple dangers.

Graphics
Voodoo Vince has an extremely unique style of visuals, with its angular building’s and sharp attention to detail Voodoo Vince demonstrates it graphical power. Even looking as sharp as it does Voodoo Vince never has even a microsecond of slowdown. The entire game will run at a flawless framerate no matter what is occurring on screen at the time, many levels will have many large machines spinning and flashing while enemies move freely about the area. Textures never seem to blur when looked at up-close and there are many small graphical details that will leave a smile on your face throughout the course of the game.

Sound
Voodoo Vince has one of the best and longest soundtrack’s of any game I have played… the musical scores are unique as well as pleasant to hear… never once did they feel even slightly repetitive. You simply need to hear this music. Vince also has a plethora of witty banner that you will hear through during the length of the game, to be very honest I very rarely heard the same thing more than once for the entire game.

Controls
Spot-on is the one word I could use to describe this game… Vince can jump “A” double jump “A-A” Punch “X” Spin Attack “B” Head slam while in the air with “X” and hover while jumping by holding the left trigger and unleash his stored Voodoo powers by holding down both triggers at the same time. The controls will only take a few moments to become familiar with and the camera view can be self-controlled with the right thumbstick as well as inverted either up/down or left/right to fit your preference.

Replay - Value
Besides collecting all the Voodoo Dust, Scroll Pages, and Power Skulls there will be little left to do… odds are however you will want to replay several areas over again simply because of how fun they are. I completed all of Voodoo Vince in a little over ten hours but for others it has taken a bit more time…
Overall
At only 39.99 new Voodoo Vince is by far the best platform on Xbox and one of my all-time personal favorites. Credit should be given to Beep Industries for making the one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Voodoo Vince is simple in thought yet very quirky in its execution.

My Opinion
Voodoo Vince is a very difficult game to review because of the massive number of points that need to be made in a review. If your are even slightly interested in this game I highly recommend you check out the demo provided in OXM’s October 2003 issue, disk #23. I think you will need to play the game itself to fully understand what I have tried to summarize here... there is simply too much to say.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/28/03, Updated 09/29/03