Originals November 29, 1999

Voodoo Vince

Posted by: kombo

Background and Premise The platforming genre is a genre unlike no other in the industryâ€”no console can seem to have enough of themâ€”Xbox included. Even Microsoft themselves has seemed to realize this, publishing a number of their own platformers on the Xbox, including Blinx, Pyschonauts, and now Voodoo Vince. The platform genre is essentially just what the name implies: 3-D platform-hopping action to reach a goal somewhere high up and far away on that particular level. This concept lends itself to get stale really quickly based on the very nature of what it means to have to run from point A to point B. Thus, Microsoft has created Voodoo Vince in an effort to innovate the genre with new elements of gameplay (in this game, obviously the element if magical powers to manipulate the physical world). Unfortunatley, much too similar to Blinx, Voodoo Vince ends up feeling simply gimmicky and doesnâ€™t bring enough to the table to keep gamers drawn to its clichÃ©d premise. Gameplay Players take the role of a self-abusing voodoo doll. Just like popular legend says, attacking a likeness of someone or something in the form of a voodoo doll inflicts the same harm on what the image stands for as the actual symbol itself. Obviously a new twist on gameplay, the fact that gamers will be mutilating themselves to fight monsters and solve puzzles adds for quite the intriguing experience in many of the gameâ€™s levels. Other than that, though, the game is pretty much just your standard run-of-the-mill platformer. There are about thirty or so stages with mini-games to complete in the game, and Voodoo Vince does spice things up a little bit in a couple of the levels with the addition of vehicles. Personally, I would never have suspected vehicles in a platform title, but they do function surprisingly well and just sets Voodoo Vince that much apart from the standard foray of platform games. Similar to Mario (on multiple levels), gamers must maneuver Vince from point A to point B while head-stopping and punching any monsters that get in the way. The game feels a bit too simplistic in many of its early and middle levels. The puzzles never really get too difficult and the monsters are extremely easy to dispose of. As mentioned, Voodoo Vince isnâ€™t so incredibly deep or involved and is saved only from blandness by its gimmick. Sadly, the gimmick itself is extremely facile and appeals really only to the younger crowd as its fairly transparent for the older crowdâ€”low difficulty aside. The camera system of Voodoo Vince is fairly solid and level design is not bad at all. One might say Voodoo Vince is a fine title. The problem is that so many platformers are simply fine titles. If a platformer does not stand out amongst its contemporaries, it will simply get lost amongst the shuffle of high-quality games being released much too close to it. Voodoo Vince is a quality title that just doesnâ€™t make it to the next level. Graphics Voodoo Vinceâ€™s graphics are very similar to its gameplay: itâ€™s solid but not it certainly isnâ€™t anything special. The gameâ€™s artistic style is very colorful and the textures the game uses are very sharp. The problem is that the art style is very similar to what weâ€™ve seen Nintendo do for years, with bright, royal colors (noticeably purple) setting the tone for a playful scene. The environments are big and very friendly feeling, and the gameâ€™s animations are smooth and enjoyable. The framerate is fluent and crisp, particle effects are cool and impressive, and overall, the game is very technically solid. The problem is simply that the game appears sterile and flouts the traditional art style of painting a grandiose scene by purposely portraying a bland one. In some ways, the art style is like the fast food of the genre. Audio The sounds are good enough for what they need to accomplish. The music is decidedly catchy without being too annoying, and the sound effects are cutesy yet not overly inebriating with their joyous squeaking and squabbling. If there is one foible, it is that the music gets too repetitive too quickly. Overall Voodoo Vince is not unlike anything weâ€™ve ever seen before. Of course, since the Xbox can take every quality platformer it can get, Voodoo Vince gets a little leeway because, frankly, its peers are extremely lacking. Voodoo Vince is a good game that just never crosses the threshold over into greatland. -Kevin Ciok