The Bond film Live And Let Die traumatised me as a young kid. I loved the theme tune, but the movie featured the terrifying voodoo priest Baron Samedi, who caused me to spend many years sleeping with the light on, constantly in fear of a wide-eyed face-painted fiend jumping out at me. Voodoo has featured in many a film over the years, but not so prominently in the world of games. Now an unlikely hero makes his console debut in the latest release from those crazy folk at Beep.

If the Xbox is guilty of one thing, it's a dearth of decent platformers. Blinx is of course a standout classic, but the rest are either mildly entertaining or unoriginal ports from other formats. Voodoo Vince dares to be different - a cartoon platformer not necessarily aimed at younger gamers.

Madam Charmaine runs a funky voodoo shop in downtown Nawlins (that's New Orleans to you), and has in her possession a large quantity of Zombie Dust. This magic powder has the ability to animate all manner of strange objects and creatures. Evil type Kosmo The Inscrutable has sent a couple of heavies to steal this dust from her shop in a bid to rule the world. During the raid, Madam Charmaine is kidnapped, and the Zombie Dust spilt all over the place. Vince, her third-best voodoo doll, is brought to life, but not before reality is warped and strange creatures have appeared. Now it's up to Vince to travel around various locations of the Deep South in the hunt for his erstwhile mistress.

From the outset, it's obvious that off-the-wall humour plays a big part in this game. As soon as Vince starts to move, look out for the quizzical glance to his non-existent nether-regions, then a resigned shrug to the camera before cheerfully ambling off. Leave the controller alone for a while, and Vince will absent-mindedly remove his eyeball and begin polishing it. Quality.

The main concept behind the game is highly original. Inflicting a world of hurt upon Vince will result in those around him feeling the pain as well, thus beginning an interesting twist on an established genre. Controls are pretty standard stuff, with jumps allocated to A, punches to X and so on. The camera is manipulated with the Right thumbstick, and there is a handy, often lifesaving, option to invert the camera both left and right and up and down.

The driving force behind most platformers is the importance of collectable power-ups, and Voodoo Vince is no different. Destroying enemies results in the release of red and purple orbs. Red boosts your life meter and purple increases your voodoo power. Once full, this enables you to unleash a voodoo attack, by way of jumping and holding both triggers. Poor Vince will inflict a nasty injury on himself, resulting in all enemies on screen suffering a similarly lethal fate.

As you progress through the game, collecting purple skulls enables you to learn more extravagant and humorous ways of masochism, from a chainsaw slicing him (and all surrounding monsters) in half to our favourite - an electro-magnet squashing Vince between a cooker and a fridge.

The game plays surprisingly well. You'll face increasingly difficult puzzles, but none so challenging that they frustrate. The warped sense of humour never falters, from the wacky characters you'll meet on your travels to the sarcastic asides from Vince himself. He's an unlikely hero, but a great character nonetheless.

An early level sees you in a madcap dash, trying to stay alight in order to destroy a troublesome petrol pump, accompanied by old-fashioned chase music. But it's not all jumping and collecting, as several levels require Vince to ride a bucking rat, fly a bi-plane and commandeer a shrimp submarine. These provide a welcome break from the routine and, unlike other titles which try the same tactic, are equally as entertaining as the main game itself.

The settings, from downtown New Orleans to a backwater bayou, have all been lovingly created. Despite the cartoonish feel, everything is covered with realistic textures. Apparently the Main Square and rickety sidestreets were exactly replicated from film footage of the city.

The levels are both numerous (there are more than 30 to complete) and non-linear, so there's loads of exploring to be done around the extensive environments, and finding every collectable will test even the truest platformer fan. The laid-back jazzy musical score really adds to the atmosphere, too.

But as the voodoo religion dictates, good and bad must always be balanced. Whilst not quite sacrificing itself at an altar covered in goat's blood, Voodoo Vince does have some bad points. The concept is original and refreshing but you get the feeling that something's, well... not as good as it could be. The icons you collect limit the way Vince can unleash voodoo attacks, and interactive use of the environment - giving greater freedom and creativity in the manner of these attacks - would have been greatly appreciated, enhancing the gaming experience no end. As a result, the action can get a little repetitive, and when you strip away the gloss and skewed humour, there remains a run-of-the-mill platformer. The addition of cutscenes is vital to relating the storyline, but the option to skip through them would have been welcome.

However, on the whole, Voodoo Vince is a welcome addition to a relatively sparse area of Xbox games, and one that will entertain both kids and adults alike.

1. Great humour
2. Absorbing atmosphere
3. New twist on platform games

1. Can't skip through overlong cutscenes
2. Can get repetitive

Power
Cartoon graphics don't really push the Xbox but the textures are nicely rendered.

Style
Feel a part of the Big Easy with authentic environments and mellow jazz throughout.

Immersion
Instantly involving, but Voodoo Vince's novelty factor may wear off surprisingly quickly.

Lifespan
With 30 large levels to explore, you'll be at this for a while, but there's very limited replay value.

Summary
An accomplished 3D platformer with an injection of dark humour. Fans of the genre should lap this up.