Voodoo Vince Brews a Cajun Character Stew

The arch-villain Kosmo the Inscrutable has sent a pair of thugs to swipe zombie dust from the quaint voodoo shop of Madam Charmaine, but naturally, they bungled the assignment. Now, the dust is dispersed across the city and has warped New Orleans into a nightmare landscape of twisted buildings, bottomless pits, and slanted streets. Worse, the dust unleashed a horde of loathsome monsters to plague the city. Vince’s journey takes him throughout the city and its environs, where he meets a host of wacky and unusual characters: some friends and some foes.

Vince
Our own burlap-clad hero, Vince, truly has his work cut out for him: He must rescue Charmaine, recover the zombie dust, restore the city to its natural state, and thwart Kosmo’s sinister plans. And, he’s only Madame Charmaine’sthird-best voodoo doll! Luckily, he comes equipped with tools for success. Death isn’t a big problem for the magically-enhanced protagonist. No matter how many times he falls into a bottomless crevice or gets exploded by a flying rat-bomb, he always comes back for more. The endless round of destruction doesn’t do much to dampen his cheerful-yet-sarcastic attitude either. (“The Grim Reaper says hello,” quips Vince when returning to life after his eighth dismemberment at the hands of an angry Bubba Gator.)

What makes Vince different than most heroes is his unique method of dealing with obstacles and enemies. Unlike most platform game heroes, who either take the fight right to the foe or try to avoid confrontation, Vince seeks out danger, hurling himself headlong into harm’s way to defeat his enemies! Armed with Dr. Hundo’s Straight Pins of Terror™, Vince is able to unleash his voodoo powers against monsters unlucky enough to be in the vicinity. Whether he’s sawing himself in half, smashing himself on the head with a mallet, leaping into a giant blender, or blowing himself up with explosives, Vince demonstrates that his is a non-traditional approach to problem-solving.

Kosmo the Inscrutable
The arch-villain of our story followed in the footsteps of many great B-movie villains. He dropped out of grade school to study the black arts, run crooked card games on New Orleans street corners, and otherwise pursue world domination. He developed the Carnival DePrave, a sinister tourist attraction with a decidedly macabre theme, but enjoyed only partial success. Frustrated, he hit upon the semi-brilliant plan of stealing from those more talented than himself. After casing Madame Charmaine’s voodoo shop, he sent his lowbrow minions to break into the shop to kidnap the fortune teller and acquire her zombie dust for his nefarious schemes-setting off the chain of events that puts Vince hot on his trail. At first, Kosmo is disdainful of the plucky hero’s efforts, but he soon realizes that Vince is far more resilient than he’d guessed. In the best arch-villain tradition, Kosmo never confronts Vince personally, relying instead on a magically transmitted image: His disembodied head appears frequently to mock Vince’s progress.

Bones McMurty
The cryptic, trumpet-toting gatekeeper of Crypt City urges Vince to nurture his inner trumpet before allowing him to escape the Quarter. It seems at first that Bones is willing to help Vince succeed—but where do his loyalties really lie?

The Ginger Dead Men
No visit to New Orleans’s most famous district, The Quarter, would be complete without a stop at Cajun Clyde’s Cookie Works! Here you’ll encounter the Ginger Dead Men, a horde of delicious fellows made fresh daily from Cajun Clyde’s yummy, patented Jalapeno Gingerbread recipe. These shambling, sugar-coated ruffians aren’t much for small talk, but they do have a way with fisticuffs—as Vince learns, to his dismay.

Professor Ethel
This taciturn academic is a Turtle Emeritus from the prestigious Goldberg Institute of Louisiana. What she lacks in social skills, she more than makes up for in her ability to construct unreliable flying machines.

Pit Frogs
Hear that dire croaking sound? That signals the arrival of these aggressive amphibians that infest bottomless pits throughout the Big Easy. Fortunately, the pit frogs are as stupid as they are ugly; although, they can sometimes use their flying ability to their advantage. (Be alert for them in sewer pipes and other small, confined spaces.) Their menace is limited as they tend to congregate in large groups, making them the perfect target for a deadly Voodoo Power attack.

By Jason Carl