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Alice
The original Alice was released in 2000 for the PC, I remember getting it for Christmas, a present from my sister as she knew of my love of the Alice in Wonderland stories and this serves as a rather dark sequel to the two books.
This game for me is one that is often played and seldom finished, I've started this game over more times than I can count, but I've normally only ever reached the Duchess boss level and then I give up, I've finished the game about three times. One of them being my first play through... I just can't stand using a keyboard and mouse in order to play, I'm a console gamer so I'm used to using a controller... But this sadly does not let you map the commands to one.
With advent of the long awaited sequel Alice has been granted a new lease of life, for the first time ever it is available on consoles through digital download and in stunning HD... And I'm enjoying this title all over again and more now that I'm able to play with a controller.
Graphics 8
Even ten years on this game looks fantastic, I compared the new HD version and the original PC version and while the HD re-release looks fantastic, the original still looks brilliant if the graphics are turned up full.
Wonderland definitely looks brilliant and twisted as it should, the whole game (rather ironically) screams "Tim Burton" with it's art style.
I especially love Wonderland Woods, the giant overgrown vegetation, ants, ladybirds and the man-eating mushrooms really bring the place to life.
The Pale kingdom, which is inhabited by chess pieces is chequered in black & white and looks... Odd... But it fits, all other places have their own style and no two zone sections look alike, but all look disjointed and broken, which perfectly reflects Alice's broken mind.
Gameplay 8.5
Alice is a very fun game, even though it does show its age.
It's an action platformer, you'll be running, jumping, swinging, climbing and swimming your way through Wonderland.
Along the way you'll be dealing death to the various malicious inhabitants of Wonderland with a variety of 'toys'
Yes, toys, aside from the Vorpal blade, you'll be attacking with a croquet mallet, a deck of cards, a jack in the box, jacks, dice and a couple of other little gadgets, all with their own abilities.
The control however is definitely where the game shows its age, the controls seem a bit clunky, Alice is a girl who definitely does not play well with others and she makes it quite evident she'll be showing you her map of Wonderland loading screen quite often.
Jumping is the biggest issue as you have to really be in control of her, attacking is the second issue as the primary attack seems sluggish and enemies tend to be rather aggressive, so it's best to just stand back and use the secondary attack... Which basically means Alice will lob something at her foe from a distance.
Playing this on a console, whilst fun, I'll admit it's harder because the aiming system was definitely designed for a PC. If you're playing on a console, you'll really have to make Alice your bitch otherwise piss-annoying enemies such as the Boojums will be kicking your arse, never mind the later enemies like chess pieces etc.
There is a slight bug with the PS3/Xbox version though in that the control jams... But it resolves itself after a few seconds.
Once you get over the learning curve though, it's definitely a fun title.
Sound 9
Another stand-out mark for an astoundingly brilliant game.
The voice acting is tremendously brilliant, especially for Alice and the Cheshire cat, although dialogue can sometimes seem disjointed, though I put that down to loading.
At other times, the voice work can seem OTT and out of place (The Duchess for instance)
Sound effects are good and whacky as they need to be in such a twisted world... My only gripe being the Boojums that I mentioned earlier... Big arsed flying banshee things that scream at you. Little fuckers.
The laughing/crying "children" are quite annoying too, but it's extremely rare you'll encounter them so it's not that big an issue.
Lastly, the music. Chris Vrenna's soundtrack to this game is fucking mental, I actually tracked down a copy of the CD instead of just downloading it as it is that good, the music is chaotic yet strange and a little bit "What the fuck?".
It fit's this new, broken Wonderland perfectly
Story 7.5
Ah, the meat of the game...
The game starts out with an FMV cutscene of young Alice Liddell waking up to her house on fire, you can hear her parents telling her to get out, so she does.
Wracked with guilt about being the only survivor, Alice slips back into the recesses of her mind that she once played in, leaving her outer body an empty shell, she is taken to an asylum.
Once back in Wonderland, she has realised that it has been broken and twisted by the Red Queen, like her mind has, and in order to fix her mind, she must fix Wonderland... The Red Queen must die.
With the original PC version there came a booklet that was a medical journal by Alice's psychiatric doctor, in it he talks about Alice's condition and her struggle to regain her sanity, it details various outbursts and mutterings from Alice which coincide with certain events that happen within Wonderland.
What I find most interesting however are the dates, the journal starts in 1863 and states Alice had been there for nearly a year, it ends in 1874 and Alice has yet to battle the Red Queen... It's interesting to think that while in Alice's mind the events take mere days, yet in reality it is a fight that has lasted nearly twelve, maybe thirteen years.
The story isn't brilliant, but it's original and it does its job, the booklet that adds just a little more depth to it brings this score up to what it is now.
Overall 8.5
Alice is one of those games you must at least play once in your life, at the time of release it was one of the most talked about PC games out there, it was a new Alice... Twisted and warped... It was no longer a kids thing... Alice was brutal and she wasn't afraid of hiding it.
Even though this game does show its age and has its problems, I must admit its still looks and plays better than most of the crap I play from the current gen.
So do yourself a favour, follow the white rabbit and enjoy this classic gem of a game
Alice: Madness Returns
After the conclusion of the first game I never thought this game to be possible, Alice had beaten the Red Queen, she was deemed insane no longer and went back into society to live out her life, but once again, here she is... Dragged back into the insane recesses of her warped mind
From the moment I heard about this I had my doubts... But then I thought "Hey, it's Alice 2... I get to play an Alice game on a console" which made me quite happy and once I found out they were packaging the original game with it as a digital download, I almost pissed myself with excitement and Alice: Madness returns became a must buy right that instant... But does the sequel live up to its predecessor? Well, let's find out shall we...
Graphics 9
To compare the graphics of this game to it's predecessor would be unfair as technology has evolved since... It would be like comparing two Nissan cars, one from the 60's and one from today... It's almost impossible to do.
Alice was a brilliant looking game for the time and Madness Returns is no different.
Once I'd booted the game up, I refused to play because I too busy wandering the streets of Victorian London, admiring the scenery... And Alice herself who looks great (Though I'm not fond of her new haircut, shoulder length with a short fringe doesn't suit her)
But once I got to Wonderland... Holy shit was I blown away, I wandered for minutes around the opening world, Vale of tears and just admired the beauty... It's astonishing and you really have to see it for yourself... Like the original Alice game, everything has it's own look and feel, Vale of tears is a very bright and vibrant forest type level, scattered with giant toys and oversized insects whilst the one that came after, the Mad Hatters own little world, like in the original game was very dark, gloomy industrial type of place, filled with working gears and whatnot.
Plus, once Alice goes to Wonderland, her hair grows back and I have to give the developers much props... Her hair looks fantastic... It looks almost real and it reacts to the world like nothing I've seen before in game.
It moves fluidly and naturally, it blows in the wind in strands, when Alice jumps, her hair arcs up like it would in real life until she lands... It's fantastic.
Gameplay 8
Gameplay is very similar to that of the first game, though naturally it has been modernised. The controls are very fluid and easy to grasp, Alice handles like a dream and performs her actions very well.
Combat has been overhauled and for the better, it no longer feels clunky and slow, it's fast and it's furious and Alice is almost predatory, yet graceful in the way she moves now with the addition of a lock-on targeting system and an evade button.
She's one vicious bitch! I love Alice!! =^.^=
Platforming is simpler to get a hang of, the physics engine works great and any fuck-ups you make this time round are most likely to be your fault, not the game being cocky.
It's a big improvement over the previous game... And no Boojums!! ^_^
What's also interesting to note is Alice's choice of weapons have matured along with her state of mind, gone are the toys such as the jackbomb and the deck of cards to make way for more... "practical" weapons, like a pepper grinder machine gun for instance, an umbrella deflection weapon even the hobby horse, whilst looking like a childs toy is a metaphor for sex (riding the hobby horse together)
Still, the Vorpal blade is around and it's easier to wield than ever!
Sound 7
The sound design in Madness Returns is fantastic, the original voice actors of Alice and the Cheshire cat have reprised their roles to give the game some continuity, though Alice does sound like Keeley Hawes who has Voiced Lara Croft for the past three games so it can get a bit boggling to me.
But they do a fantastic job, every line is delivered beautifully.
Sounds and ambient noises are fantastic and quirky, yet also gritty and real as you'd expect, top quality work... I can't fault it.
My gripe however, comes from the music itself... It's ass... Compared to the original Alice game, it's ass! It's dull and lifeless, it doesn't have that haunting "What the fuck?" fantasy feel to it, but it's a teeny issue to me, most times I don't even realise. But when I do... I just wish it was a bit better, considering how brilliant Alice's soundtrack was.
Story 7
Alice has been released from Rutledge Asylum and into the care of a London psychiatrist, where the traumatic memories of her parents' deaths continue to haunt her. As a result of her relocation, her hallucinations and internal struggle have increased in severity, and she returns to Wonderland in hopes of security and comfort. However, it has once again become warped by her insanity, and she must save its residents and herself from the evil that is taking over Wonderland.
Alice must journey journey between a dark London and a provocative Wonderland to find out the true cause of her family's mysterious death.
It's a different story compared to that of most games so it deserves some credit right there, but to be fair... The plot, whilst a good idea is not going to be the main point of interest for most people who play this... Which is a real shame.
Overall 8
This is the game I've wanted for a long time! It's beautiful yet chaotic and Alice is... Well, she's better than ever.
All the issues of the first game have been addressed and the game plays like a dream... In more ways than one.
For the first time ever, Wonderland feels real, it feels organic and it's just breathtaking!
It may not be the most perfect game out there... But it's definitely worth playing! Especially because the original is packaged free along with it!
My doubts may have been there at the start, but they are there no longer... Alice: Madness returns is a game that I loved the moment I selected the New Game option and began playing. If they ever make a third game, it'll be absurd that Alice can still crazy enough to warrant a third outing... But I'd buy it! Here's hoping the long planned Oz game comes to light.
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