Alice: Madness Returns

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Woohoo! Alright, now I'm going to start right off by saying I LOVE this game! Now, with that being said, let's take a quick look at what's so great (and not great) about it, shall we?

First off, the graphics. Now, I like how the developers took a more "animated" style for this (though some may not). The colors in the backgrounds and scenery can range from absolutely breath-taking, to horrifically morbid (in a good way). The character and level design is also very unique and while somewhat cartoonish, this only helps serve the purpose of resulting in a very creative and imaginative piece of art.

Now, despite it's beauty, the game is also filled to the brim with what we all want: violence! Yes, most notably, the fighting mechanics of this game have been compared to the likes of Heavenly Sword, Dante's Inferno, and God of War, and rightfully so. It pretty much is a "hack-n-slash," type game like those mentioned, however there are also plenty of power-ups and abilities that can be used to "spice things up" a bit.

Back-tracking a bit to character design and such, the arsenal of villains and supporting cast is quite unique to say the least. Gone are the nostalgic images of cute n' cuddly Alice in Wonderland characters, and here, we are introduced instead to a more twisted yet fresh and entertaining cast. Personally, I LOVE the way the Cheshire cat is depicted in this video game, though I won't give away any "spoilers" as to appearance, so either you'll have to pick the game up, or just take my word for it ;).

The soundtrack and overall sound of the game itself really is rather enchanting, and definitely serves to help the mood of certain areas and scenes depicted on-screen. Once more, I have yet another compliment to offer, in that I truly think the voice acting in this game is phenomenal and the developers really outdid themselves in selecting the voice-talent; perfection!

So what about the gameplay itself? Is it any good? Is it fun? Would it be worth a second try (replay)? The answer to all of the above is...YES! The game itself is filled to the brim with action, interactive environments, and everyone's "favorite"...puzzles (lol). Nah, but seriously, the puzzles in this game aren't that bad at all, and even if you do end up getting stuck (which I doubt you will), we are fortunate to live in an age where we have all the answers to our questions at our fingertips (the internet). Needless to say, this game is an absolute BLAST, and replayability is definitely there. This is especially the case if you are a trophy collector, as some of the trophies involve beating the game on various difficulty settings.

I am a huge fan of all things "Alice in Wonderland." I have read the book(s), I have seen the movie(s), and now, I can say I have played the game(s). Oh yes, that's right, also if you purchase the game, you get a code that allows you to download the original "American McGee's Alice" game that was released back in 2000. What?! A free downloadable game?! Sweet! Now, keep in mind, the graphics will naturally be outdated since it came out in 2000, but any real gamer knows that graphics aren't what make a game...but whether or not a game is fun certainly does!

My only main gripe/concern about the game is that sometimes the controls/camera can be a bit tough to deal with, and can require some tinkering/tampering with to get it "just right." However the developers did a good job in offering the player to customize the control scheme to either regular or inverted, so depending on your preference, you can choose accordingly.

So, with that being said, here is what my first impressions of this game are:

Graphics: 5/5

Controls: 4/5

Sound: 5/5

Story: 4/5

Gameplay: 5/5

Overall: 5/5

At the very least, rent this game, however if you are an Alice in Wonderland fan, and don't mind reaching into your "darker" and "twisted" side, then you'd be doing yourself a disservice in not picking-up this game. So what are you waiting for?! Join me and visit Wonderland! :)

Update 6/15: Wow! I strongly encourage people to at least give this game a try. I've had another few hours at it, and I gotta' say, this game is so gorgeous and full of intrigue. I expected to have beaten it by now, however from what I've found, I still have a way to go. Length is always a PLUS to any game, and definitely gives me a sense that I spent my money well in picking this up. The puzzles are very unique, and some may require persistence or critical thinking skills, so if you don't enjoy things of that nature, then this game might not be for you, however I personally LOVE the challenge; as a lot of games these days seem to be too easy in my opinion. As I mentioned earlier, the character design is top-notch, and I keep running into more-and-more of our beloved favorite characters from the book/movie and I must say, the developers did an outstanding job in adding their own personal..."flare" to the characters.

I can understand where some of the negative reviews come from, since this type/style of game doesn't appeal to exactly everyone, but I can say that I'm surprised that there aren't more positive reviews out there. So with that in mind, at least give it a try, but to me, this is definitely worth a buy! Got any questions? Leave them in the comments! Hope this helps! :)

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Alice: Madness Returns isn't your regular cup of tea.

Despite its 11 year absence, the sequel lives up to its original title quite well. Alice is back, and her mind is still fragmented and all is not well with her. Her grasp on sanity is tenuous at best and her psychologist sessions are not going well; the Victorian take on medicine is resplendently well-played out in the form of a Doctor whose therapy focuses purely on just "forgetting all the bad things."

It doesn't take long for Alice to start hallucinating again and thrown back into "Wonderland", coming across the Cheshire Cat who practically growls in his svelte voice that not all she sees is how she remembers things.

Alice isn't looking for a fight. But, as the Cheshire Cat lazily laments, "Really? That's a pity. One's certainly looking for you." Alice is unwittingly thrown back against nightmarish enemies with her trusty Vorpal Blade ("keen and swift," the Cheshire Cat purrs), a Pepper Grinder, and a couple of other surprises for you to discover. Her enemies are beautifully rendered and the soundtrack lends an urgent, ominous tone to the entire affair. In addition, Alice's stumbling into the "Drink Me" fountain allows her to shrink at will, allowing her to see things that the "big Alice" can't see and allow her to crawl through keyholes, some cleverly disguised behind rocks. And, throughout, shrinking will allow her to see the occasional crude drawing scrawled in a light neon purple warning her of challenges and suggestions of paths to follow. There are other upgrades, to be sure, including weapons (similar to the God of War scheme except that you're using teeth, not red orbs).

The gameplay is fun throughout and although hack-and-slash might help you with the first couple of nemeses that you encounter, you will eventually find others that will force you to adopt different tactics. Unlike Dante's Inferno, this game will require a little bit more strategy on your part and the secrets are very well-hidden. If there is anything that I feel detracts from the gameplay, it's the occasional area where you feel that you can explore a certain direction (say under a shallow tree root?), but you can't go that direction and no amount of shrinking will allow you to do so either. That's too bad, because the "force field" walls are quite archaic in this era of game design and some graphical work could have been employed to suggest that a certain area is simply not traversable.

That con aside, the game is a visual feast. I occasionally would stop just so that I could rotate the camera slowly and drink in the sights. The artwork is quite imaginative and is a stark contrast to the parts where Alice wanders around a somewhat lifeless London. Now, I have read reviews that there are some occasional bland textures. Call it what you will, but I attribute it to the fragmented mind of Alice herself; there is too much in this game that looks so good as to fault the programmers for areas (especially London) where it's seemingly lifeless and devoid of rich textures. I simply don't buy it. I won't spoil the artwork for you any further, but the level design and incorporation of everyday items as means for travel or building materials does make me utter the occasional "wow."

Now, as for story, don't expect any mind-blowing Hollywood movie here. The point of the journey is the nightmare and the art. With that in mind, the game succeeds quite admirably.

5 stars, McGee, for blowing my mind away again!

If that's not enough, the current release also includes a voucher to download the original Alice (just over 940 MB) for the PS3. If you didn't catch the game the first time around, now's your chance to get it again without resorting to the insane prices people are charging for used PC copies.

Alice is not for the faint of heart to be sure. The Mature rating is quite well-deserved, although I believe that the cover would do well-enough to dissuade any parent who would ever think that this is a whimsical take on the Alice story worthy of an 8-year old.

PS just as an historical footnote, there are many who keep on stating how much this game is like God of War, Dante's Inferno, etc. The original Alice predates God of War by about 5 years. It's easier to compare this game to those, however, because they are considerably fresher in everyone's mind.

Buy Alice: Madness Returns Now

I was reading through Game Informer and I'm not understanding why this game got a mediocre review. This is one of the coolest games I've bought in a long time. The graphics are great. The story is fun. The knife you get is useful for attacks but the pepper grinder is an excellent weapon. If you are thinking of buying this game I would say go for it and ignore the reviews. In fact I'm going to ignore the reviews period from now on. I would have missed out on a great game if I would have listened to them..

Read Best Reviews of Alice: Madness Returns Here

I just finished this game today and have to say I really enjoyed playing it. I'll try and keep this straight and to the point as best as I can.

Pros:

Art direction the art direction in this game sets the standards for other games of its kind. In fact, I'll go as far as to say it's almost unparalleled. Sometimes I liked just looking around to see all of the creepy things they hid in the environment. Lovely.

Controls these were really cinch-y. Jumping was rarely difficult. I had no issues with this while playing.

Camera very rarely did the camera go wonky on me. Very, very rarely.

Voice Acting everyone did a marvelous job. I love whoever did Alice's voice. I believe it's done by the same woman who did her voice in the first game, which is definitely a plus. The Cheshire cat is back, too.

Well-designed levels I rarely if ever got lost or confused. Very straightforward.

High-creep factor there were definitely times when I felt chills going up and down my spine. That's when you know that horror is being done correctly.

Combat I loved the combat in this game! I like the dodge ability and all of the different weapons you get. Lots of fun and definitely a highlight. I feel this was greatly improved from the previous game, though that was fun too.

Collectables there are a lot of collectables that make it worth a second play if you're up to playing it again. This game is actually quite long and took me several days to finish it

Add-ons if you pre-ordered this game (though it may still be available; I don't know) you can get a free music sampler and a copy of the original Alice game.

Cons:

Overly simplistic puzzles occasionally there will a break in the platforming-style of gameplay and there will be puzzles, but these puzzles are just waaaay too easy.

Odd glitches this is just a nitpick, but there were some odd things going on every once in awhile, like Alice's hair jumping during a cutscene. There were also odd lapses of the subtitles during some of the cutscenes (they were too slow and didn't keep up with the character) or sometimes the character's sentence would just cut off and you'll be thrown onto a loading screen. Otherwise, a very cohesive game.

Poor transitioning there were awkward and rather clumsy transitions between cutscenes and gameplay. Alice's hair will glitch or you will get an odd fade-in/fade-out quite often. Again, another nitpick. It won't affect gameplay at all.

Repetitive Lots and lots of platforming over and over. They tried to break it up a little with side games, but it can get tiring at times. Though this game has some replay value potential, because it's so long and it's very much the same thing over and over again, I'd say this is a negative.

Boss battles the boss battles were just the regular villains en masse. I liked how in the older game you could battle Wonderland characters, but here they were just there to encourage/hinder Alice. At one point, you think you'll get a big boss battle, but then something happens and the boss is taken out for you.

So as you can see, the pros outweigh the cons. This game is differently worth a try, especially for the art direction and the graphics. It's a lovely game with great combat, but it can get a little repetitive for me at times. In the end, though, it was worth every penny I spent and worth the wait.

Want Alice: Madness Returns Discount?

If you're willing to give this game the respect it deserves it will more than recompense you in its depth and quality. It will assist you in dealing with your Shadow (Jung's concept of the hidden, repressed self) if you open yourself to it psychologically. More than worth it as many gamers sorely require such experiences.The development team has done the world a favor. Hats off.