It's a jungle out there!
Palace Software released Voodoo Nightmare in 1990 and is an isometric action/puzzler not dissimilar to the older Ultimate games I used to play as a kid on my ZX Spectrum. We are Boots Barker, a guy with a silly name and little good fortune - he went on an African holiday with his wife and best friend. Hang on, both his wife and best friend? Yep, I'm getting a bad vibe and wondering what naughty things she's been getting up to!
Anyhow, during the holiday, they all went up for a ride in a hot-air balloon. Suddenly, but not surprisingly, he gets pushed over the side and falls into the deep jungle wilderness! Thankfully, he survived that horrendous fall but was left unconscious in the mud. It got worse when he awoke to find that a medicine man had crammed a mask on his face! Try as he might, the damn thing wouldn't come off.
Our task is very simple get the mask off our ugly mug. To do that, we must find eight pins that we can stick into a voodoo doll of that African witch doctor. These are hard to find and only earned by materialistically-satisfying five temple gods (who each have a pin to provide). The rest are collected by completing jungle tasks, like helping an injured native, feeding a monkey, and finding a lion cub's mother.
These images I've taken from the manual brilliantly depict the outlandish narrative...
Now's my chance to be Sabreman?
The jungle is a beautiful place with a lush green landscape and an assortment of dangerous animals. Its wilderness is designed like a turf maze; getting around takes practice because you can easily make a wrong turn and feel lost. Wild animals roam but only come out during the daytime - which is odd but rather handy as you will discover. The jungle is also home to native residents, shops, and (wait for it) casinos!
Okay, my first impressions weren't favourable and I didn't care for Voodoo Nightmare at all. After playing a game or two, I left it for several weeks because I didn't appreciate the concept of blindly wandering around a restrictive maze. I think a lot of this was also down to the control system and positioning my joystick at an awkward angle - something I never did in Knight Lore or Fairlight! Yep, this game didn't gel with me whatsoever.
Thankfully, I returned to the game after I accidentally stumbled upon some screenshots that I had previously taken. These piqued my interest and I gave it a second chance - I even surprised myself by reading the manual. Yep, I did that just don't tell anyone. Anyhow, I decided to give it another go, just in case I happened to prejudge it too harshly and incorrectly. Sheesh, it turned out I had!
In light of that revelation, I think I better roll on with a selection of funky screenshots...
Out of Africa
The basis of the story is to collect 8 pins from each temple and some jungle tasks. Then we can end our masked torment by beating the living daylights out of that witch doctor! Sounds easy but it's a lot harder than you may think: each temple is home to a greedy god who must be showered in gems before giving up his pin.
The first is the Spider Temple, a maze of rooms containing gems. It's daunting with some inaccessible areas and locked doors. So this is where the puzzle elements come in - either killing a nasty beast, moving objects, or using teleporters. You are alerted for nearby gems in the status menu to make sure you don't miss anything. Once we have collected enough, the spider god can be visited who will cough up the first of our pins.
She also rewards us with the power to break webs so we can discover more, like the jungle tasks. The first, that I found, was a lion cub who needed to be returned to its mother. This is just a case of heading back through the jungle to find Mom. But that's easier said than done thanks to the jungle being a maze of angry animals.
The jungle is a formidable force of nature and home to many animals and natives who use poisonous blowpipes for varied effects - one of which is temporary blindness. The animals only roam during the day and can drain your energy unless you're quick to stamp on them - they sometimes drop a plate of food. Very handy!
It's not complex but the tasks are huge. Wanna see more screenshots of stunning 16-bit artistry...
Shopping and nightlife
The jungle isn't like we saw watching Tarzan. This place has shops stuffed with helpful items like weapons and maps. These places are only open during the daytime and are manned by Romero. He's a nice chap and several of his Supply Huts dotted around different parts of the jungle. Shop around to find specific items.
Wanna know what you purchased? Hit the spacebar to reveal the inventory and use the joystick to choose an item. I would advise purchasing a weapon which makes it easier to kill those nasty animals roaming the jungle. However, this does mean you can no longer jump, which makes no sense, but it's easy to alternate.
During the night, casinos open their doors to anyone wishing to try their luck. That's right, we can gamble away our warez by taking a chance - Vegas style! It's called a Treasure Tree and is open at night but it may prove fruitful for those willing to risk it. Or you might just get yourself in big trouble... How is your luck?
It always pays to explore everywhere; you never know what you may stumble upon...
Jane's big tips
- It may help you a bunch if the joystick is held at an angle. But get familiar first before you jump into the gameplay. It may be awkward but it's not impossible! Ugh, trust me...
- Starting in the spider temple is an overbearing experience. Take your time and make use of the teleporters whilst also making a mental note of those that appear to lead to a dead end.
- Watch the status bar for a flashing red gem alert.
- Getting sick of the rabid animals constantly sapping your energy? So you didn't bother to master the controls? Nor have you shopped for better weaponry? Well, you can pause the game - when the sun comes up. Now, unpause when the moon is out. A weird cheat!
- The jungle quests are confusing only because the jungle is a challenging labyrinth. Why not memorise it? Plus there are maps to purchase (only if you have an abundance of funds!)
- Jungle tasks? The lion cub is so easy, head back north and grab a weapon.
- Stuck in the spider temple? Try pushing some central objects.
- Blades are great but also mean that you don't need to jump on the animals anymore.
- Did you know some of the jungle's brush can be slashed?
- Holes in bridges - use your inventory to put your boots back on.
Tarzan aesthetics!
I absolutely love the visuals, all thanks to the talents of Lyndon Brooke and Lorne Campbell (Operation Harrier and Barbarian II). This design is something that Ultimate could only dream of back in their colour-clash ZX Spectrum days. Thankfully, they didn't make the mistake of going overboard to produce something garish. No, each temple looks incredible with fine attention to detail and the jungle is lush in technicolour.
As for the audio, Dave Whittaker created both the effects and background music. The effects are nice but it's the music I enjoyed the most. Okay, it's not his finest work but it certainly functions as a subtle background melody. It's timid so doesn't overpower the sound effects and this shy approach works perfectly.
Check out these screenshots from the Snake Temple. Stunning visuals with a menacing design...
The CryptO'pinion?
I may not have liked Voodoo Nightmare at first but I'm glad I returned to it. This is now growing to be one of my favourite ST games and feels somewhat like a "modern" Sabre Wulf with its jungle and crazy critters.
My only quibbles are the constant onslaught of angry animals and the time it took to feel comfortable with the controls. Of course, the jungle would be dull without animals crazily running around and it's fun learning to kill them using the fast and fluent joystick controls. You may start playing by cautiously walking through the animal-infested jungle but it's not long until you're running and killing like a Tasmanian Devil.
Voodoo Nightmare is a thrill and will entertain you for hours. An incredible game and highly recommended!!
> The floppies can be found on Atari Legend and you can also run it directly off your hard drive.
