A whopping ten years have passed since American McGee’s original (‘American McGee’s Alice’ or ‘Alice 1’) twisted fairytale take on the Lewis Carroll classic, and things have gotten a whole lot worse for our favorite slice and dice, delusional heroine. Alice Liddell’s beloved Wonderland lays in ruins, and with it her quickly deteriorating mind. Unfortunately for Alice, as one goes…so does the other.
With no disrespect to Tim Burton’s theatrical attempt, McGee’s development house – Spicy Horse – has the warped Alice genre down cold. Adult-themed, Goth Alice is magnificent, with ‘Alice: Madness Returns’ (‘Alice 2’) continuing the atmospheric excellence inherent in the 2000 original. Visuals, dialog, characters types, environmental elements, and storylines combine to present a terrific package simply oozing with panache.
If you’re new to McGee’s Alice, Electronic Arts graciously includes a non-gratis, PSN download of the original along with Alice 2. Don’t expect to be wowed; Alice 1 unfortunately does not age well. Shoddy jumping, movement and combat mechanisms are aplenty. Control scheme is a secondary disaster. Still, ambiance is certainly there, also trophies for those game on giving this version a go. Related, it’s also nifty to spot subtle design carry-over between Alice 1 and 2.
Don’t get me wrong: Alice 2 – while leaps and bounds (pun intended within next sentence) better than the original – is anything but perfect. Alice 2’s jumping mechanism is apt to drive one more nutter than the Mad Hatter sans wristwatch.
Whinge time: I’m continuously perplexed by platform-centric titles steadfastly refusing to incorporate sufficient, secondary destination markers (i.e. landing target, complex shadows, etc.). Even more so within games heavily reliant on a standardized (e.g. Unreal, Crysis, Quake, etc.), gameplay engine, where said compensation should be a simple lighting/environment adjustment.
Problem is, Alice 2 – very guilty of this foible - progression requires persistent mastery of a double-jump plus float dynamic. Ergo, expect to die a lot…in the stupidest of instances…for seemingly no rhyme or reason. Label me a cynic, but I’m highly skeptical that Alice Liddell conjured a Wonderland so ripe with flawed platform elements to properly traverse its fantastical offerings. One jump at a time. Then again. And again. Hello mushroom. Goodbye world. (No wonder she went batty.)
Related, Alice 2’s seeming over-reliance on an engine – in this instance, Unreal – in lieu of diverse gameplay design. The game commits the cardinal sin of sending Alice on far too many mini tasks within greater tasks, an errand boy formula bursting with redundant interaction requirements (timed boxes, platform mastery, slide puzzles, shrink/unshrink, etc.) that get old quite fast. This sin degrades exponentially, with Alice 2 levels so damn long…and mid-task save points conversely quite minimal. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.
Moreover - and in earlier stages of Alice 2- Spicy Horse commits a second Unreal boo-boo, leaving in its wake hours’ worth of uninspired environments and enemies. Far too many variations of ‘ruin’ baddies – think ‘No Face’ from ‘Princess Mononoke’ - riddle the battle space, with area completion ho-hum monotonous platform jumping…within bland environs…followed by hack and slash of similar enemy types.
Still, there’s smoke at the end of the hookah for those willing to stick by Alice 2. Clouds worth, in fact.
To elaborate – and alluded to above – atmosphere is perpetually stunning, notably artwork, voice-overs, sound effects, and cut scenes. Also, Alice 2 does an outstanding job of weaving in story mysteries through unlocking dream portions, a clever dynamic encouraging exploration and risk-taking in lieu of following the uninspired, beaten path.
Third – and while the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ universe is commonplace to most, Spicy Horse does stellar work in capturing its essence and characters…and with a welcome, adult themed flair. The Cheshire Cat never bores, even when interactions are somewhat expected. Ditto for accompanying actors, individuals packing oodles of personality and purpose, capably inspiring Alice through those ridiculously long levels. Alice’s always-changing outfits stand out as ever-present creative gems.
Echoing these sentiments – and while it certainly starts slow – Alice 2 picks up considerable steam (hookah humor abounds) as the game progresses. Aforementioned blandness and redundancy slowly peels away about halfway through the game, replaced by much better level design and area progression tasks. Level Three (no plot spoilers here, folks) is a creative masterpiece. Similarly, the ability of Alice 2 to capably thread Alice real and imagined life is extraordinarily well done. One might argue Victorian London more intriguing than Wonderland itself.
Extending further, I’m simply in love with the weapons in Alice 2; uncannily clever, and awesome to both execute and upgrade. The legendary Vorpal Blade is nothing compared to a prized Teapot Cannon and Hobby Horse. Ditto the Pepper Grinder, making one re-think battle tactics one spice at a time. Alice 2 combat can be frustratingly difficult at times, also inconsistent based on level and weapon progression. Still, the game fights fair, its terrific weapons cache a literal blast to unleash. Plus, there’s always psycho Alice when health is at its minimum.
Balancing said pro’s and con’s, it’s fair to proclaim Alice: Madness Returns as the very rare exceptional creative offering not as well executed as intended. (The reverse relationship – especially within the First Person Shooter genre – is more norm than exception.) Execution flaws – in this reviewer’s opinion – arguably reside with over-reliance on the Unreal Engine, of reverse engineering to fit a playable game around artistic brilliance. Thankfully – as mentioned above – Alice 2 closes this gap as the game progresses.
With this being said, Alice: Madness Returns is anything but a perfect game, occasionally platform irritant, formulaic and on a road to seemingly no where. Still, it’s a rare opportunity where one can take notice of something truly creative special, and this is one of those instances. Akin to Wonderland, Alice 2 eventually hooks you in, pulls you deep into its depths, and refuses to let go. Thus, a coin flip purchase at full retail price, gimme gimme at anything less.
