Alice: Madness Returns (Xbox 360)

Game: Alice: Madness Returns
Platform: Xbox 360
Publisher: EA
Developer: Spicy Horse
Genre: Action/Platformer
Release Date: June 14, 2011
Score: 9 out of 10

 

The sequel to American Mcgee’s Alice takes players back to the twisted version of Wonderland found in the title character’s demented mind. The first game became a cult classic and this one has the potential to as well. As a rabid Alice in Wonderland fan, and also a fan of platformers, my opinion may be a bit skewed toward the positive, but honestly I loved this game. I do not understand why it reviewed so average or why EA did not market it more. No, it isn’t  super innovative, but it’s fun. Solid combat, excellent platforming challenges, and beautiful, twisted settings make this a game worth checking out. Of course there were parts that weren’t perfect. Some levels dragged and sometimes the platforming was hindered by the camera, but overall it’s a fun game with a good story. It’s not everyday you get to play a game that lets you take on the role of a classic literary character armed with a kitchen knife sent to kill deformed living toys inhabiting her mind.

Story: Set ten years after the previous game, Madness Returns has Alice out of the mental institution but still searching her own mind for the cause of her family’s death.  Her new psychiatrist, Dr. Bumby, is treating Alice by having her forget her memories. Alice finds herself pulled back into Wonderland as her mind attempts to fight the process. She must save Wonderland to save herself. I’ve read reviews that complain this game is not as dark as the original. They must mean atmospherically, because the story is quite disturbing. Personally I find murder, torture, and child molestation themes to be very dark indeed. Maybe I’m just naïve. Although Alice blames herself, she cannot remember exactly what happened the night her family died. Throughout Wonderland Alice will find memories scattered about to help fill in the story. These belong not only to her, but to other characters in a position to know what has happened as well. These range from the drunk nurse at the asylum, to Alice’s doctors. Revealed in 2-d short cut scenes, these memories are a creative way to have Alice and the player discover the truth.

Sound: The sound track does an admirable job conveying the mood of Wonderland. The twists and turns throughout the game are mirrored in the music. Haunting and eerie at times, it can turn dissonant and angry in a moment. The score is definitely the strong point of the sound in this game. The voice acting was a missed opportunity. It’s a shame considering many of the original cast reprised their roles from the first game. The script just didn’t seem all that great for many of the characters, especially the characters in Wonderland. I noticed it particularly with the Cheshire cat.  I’d give it a solid meh; not great, not bad, but not memorable.

Graphics: This game is beautiful. It can’t be easy to make things both pretty and menacing at the same time, but Madness Returns succeeds. Wonderland itself is divided up into several worlds that each present a distinctive look and feel. Whether Alice is under the sea or in the mad hatter’s mechanical factory, the area feels completely unique down to the tiniest details. Alice’s dress even changes depending on what world she is in.  The bright and colorful world of  Wonderland is counter-balanced by the dark, grimy streets of Victorian London, which Alice visits in-between levels.  Another great design choice was to use 2-d animation for the memories Alice finds. These contrasts to Wonderland offered a nice graphical change of pace.

Controls and Gameplay: Alice is an action/platformer and both combat and jumping perform well. Alice has a good variety of weapons to take out the weird, acid spitting doll heads and other strange creatures found in Wonderland and each one is useful. Alice has her vorpal blade and hobby horse for close combat, pepper grinder and tea pot for ranged, and an umbrella for deflection. Nothing feels useless, and even after acquiring a new weapon there were situations that required an older weapon. They are also upgradable. Alice collects teeth throughout Wonderland which she can sell for upgrades. Players make their way through Wonderland and they face several puzzles and platforming challenges. Alice is able to shrink to find hidden areas and hidden platforms. Some of the jumps are tricky due to camera issues but overall it was a rare occurrence. Alice has learned triple jump and is equipped with a glide mechanic ( a trick I’m sure she learned from the Super Mario Brothers 2 version of Princess Peach)  to ensure every ledge can be reached. They come in handy too, since there are so many collectables to find. While the game itself is pretty linear, there are lots of hidden paths to discover usually leading to collectables. There are memories and bottles to find, pig snouts to pepper, and radula rooms to find and complete. Wonderland can feel sparsely populated making a few of the levels drag. To change up the’ fight/ platform to another fight’ formula several mini games are interspersed throughout the game. Some are well done if over used, such as the slide, and some are needlessly frustrating. One of my issues with the game is simply wishing there was more. More enemies, more areas to explore, maybe even a boss fight or two would be nice. Each level is grand and the story builds, making the player feel as if an epic boss battle is just around the corner. Encounters that could have been fights end up being cut scenes. It’s a big let down and one of my biggest complaints about Madness Returns.

Replayability: By having multiple types of collectables to find and weapons to upgrade, players will probably play the game more than once. Finding all of the numerous collectables in one playthrough is nearly impossible. Upgrading the weapons in one playthrough is possible, but since there is a new game plus option it’s not something to stress over. There are four difficulty levels available as well, and achievements for each of them. I played through each and I didn’t notice too much of a difference, especially with upgraded weapons.  Also, a DLC dress and weapons pack is available which will change Alice’s dress while giving her special abilities and upgrade your weapons. The achievements give the game some replay value as well. I unlocked all 1000 and none of them were difficult to get. As an added bonus, if you buy the game new it comes with a copy of the first game, American Mcgee’s Alice for free. 100 of the 1000 achievement points are for completing the original game. These will probably be the most difficult achievements for everyone to unlock.

Score: I had a great time playing this game. Yes, it had some gameplay elements that were less than innovative. It didn’t make the game any less fun for me, in fact, it made it more enjoyable. Madness Returns took classic gameplay elements, matched them with a good story, and created an amazing world to put them in. What it set out to do it did well. Could it have done some things better? Sure. But overall it was a fun game that I played and explored completely. Plus, if you buy the game new you get a free game. For me the game gets a 9 out of 10. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it certainly was mine.

American McGee’s Alice (Xbox 360)

Game: American McGee’s Alice
Platform: Xbox 360
Publisher: EA
Developer: Spicy Horse
Genre: Action/Platformer
Release Date: June 14, 2011
Score: 6 out of 10

 

Originally released in 2000, American McGee’s Alice was a cult hit due to its dark and twisted take on Lewis Carroll’s classic book. It’s hard to review a game that’s 12 years old, even if it deals with one of your favorite properties. It’s not easy to ignore today’s gaming standards. I was excited to give the game a try, especially considering it came free with my copy of Alice:Madness Returns. —Warning: You cannot play this game without a copy of Madness Returns. You can purchase a copy if you bought Madness Returns used. Even the achievements available are simply 100 out of the 1000 available for Madness Returns. –I had tried to play the game a few years ago, but I had issues getting it to play on my computer without constant crashes. This is a game I had been wanting to play for a long time and overall it was kind of a disappointment. The art style, the story, and the sound were all marred by the incredibly unforgiving, buggy combat and platforming.

Story: American McGee’s Alice takes Lewis Carroll’s classic story and turns it into a dark and twisted nightmare. After being the sole survivor of a fire that killed her family, Alice is left in a catatonic state in a mental institution. Wonderland is all a creation of her mind and its sickness mirrors her own. She must save Wonderland to save herself. It’s a fantastic idea, and the dialog in game is great. One of my favorite lines from a video game is found in this game. “Here’s a riddle: when is a croquet mallet like a billy club? I’ll tell you. Whenever you want it to be…” Uttered by the Cheshire cat, it seems to perfectly sum up the dark and cruel world Alice finds herself in. Plus it would look great on a t-shirt. I do wish the ending had been fleshed out more. It just ends. There is little explanation of what has occurred.

Sound:  The score was done by Chris Vrenna, the drummer for Nine Inch Nails, and it is perfect. It’s weird and dissonant and haunting and all the things that one could want to hear in this version of Wonderland. It’s hard to believe this is from a game 12 years old. Most of the tracks are still equally as good as anything currently out. The voice acting in the game is stellar as well. The star has to be the Cheshire cat; his lines are delivered with the perfect mix of cruelty and disdain. All of the actors did a wonderful job though, no one sounded as if they didn’t belong among the cast.

Graphics: This game was made in 2000 so it’s not going to look great. That being said, the character models and the overall design of the game is amazing. The enemies are creative and menacing without being over the top. Many are simply everyday items that have turned sinister, like the playing cards. The world itself can be rather blocky with poor textures. Still, every area has a unique feel and there are a good amount of different locations. Besides the standard lava world and ice world, Alice throws in some pretty creative places as well. My personal favorite was the black and white chess world. The graphics have held up surprisingly well after all this time. Besides, its not like they were going for realism. It is Wonderland after all.

Controls and Gameplay: Never has so much cursing been heard from me while playing a game. I love action/platformers; love them, even old ones. Old games do not have to control so terribly. I couldn’t imagine trying to play this on a PC. On paper the action sequences seem like they should be easy and fun. Alice has a ton of weapons at her disposal, if they are designed for close combat the weapon has a ranged option, or if ranged they usually have an awesome special ability, like making ice walls. Unfortunately 90% of these weapons are useless. The Vorpal blade, which is supposedly her main weapon, is so slow it’s ridiculous. You might get two swings in before being killed in close quarters. Its ranged attack is powerful, but super hard to aim. Basically, once you have the jacks there is little use in ever selecting another weapon, except maybe the ice wand on occasion just hear its cool whistle. The platforming is somehow even more frustrating than the combat. Alice’s jumps are difficult to line up and sometimes she slides right off of where you land. Sometimes there is no clear indication of where to jump to, meaning repeated deaths as you try rock after rock trying desperately to land. You are never sure if you can’t make the jump because it isn’t a landable spot, or maybe it’s just going to take you 20 tries. At least there is manual saving. At times I found myself manually saving after every single jump. Otherwise its back to  checkpoint which usually isn’t anywhere near a platforming section. Sometimes  the camera will take an unexpected turn making a section of platforming or a fight unnecessarily difficult. It’s such a shame the actual mechanics of the game are so terrible. Making your way through Wonderland is fun and exciting. Fighting a new boss and figuring out how to hurt it is satisfying if a little easy (hint: use the last weapon you found!). I wanted to see what I would come across next; I just wished I didn’t have to play my way there.

Replayability: There isn’t much to recommend replaying this game. It has four difficulty settings and I played each one. This is one game where the difficulty setting matters! The hardest difficulty was almost impossible. The poor combat is more noticeable when enemies take 8-10 hits to kill. There are 100 achievement points available but none of them have to do with difficulty so unless you have OCD like me I wouldn’t recommend playing through them all. Speaking of achievements… they are 100 out of the 1000 available for Alice: Madness Returns. You cannot play this game without a copy of Alice: Madness Returns. I know I’ve said this before (see 1st paragraph) but it bears repeating.  The achievements related to this game are simply for beating specific levels.

Score: I wanted to love this game. I had been looking forward to playing it for years. I hated to be so disappointed. Even if the gameplay wasn’t great, I slogged through it and I am so glad I did. Despite its flaws it is a truly unique game that creates an amazing world. Plus, it set up the sequel which I actually did love! So for that it gets a 6 out of 10. It’s playable, if a bit painful, yet somehow it’s still fun.