Reviewed: Alice – The Madness Returns

When Lewis Carol wrote his iconic Alice in Wonderland novel, he obviously had a certain idea in his head as to what the surroundings and the landscape would like look. Well, so did American McGee. And it’s almost guaranteed that the two visions were completely different.

Although Carol’s version is twisted in its own right, readers didn’t quiet expect the version that McGee produced when he released his first effort into the world of Alice and video games.

American McGee’s Alice was a fun title to play, but the shoddy controls and sub-par graphics hampered any real excitement. Yet, there were tons of fans who loved the game.

So it’s with great enthusiasm that McGee ventured forth for another trip to Wonderland, this time producing the sequel Alice: Madness Returns through Electronic Arts. The madness did truly return, as any gamer can attest who only saw the game’s opening sequence or any form of trailer. (The original game is also included on the Madness Returns disc).

The grim and often violent images portrayed in the game gives the feeling that poor old Alice was really troubled – and with good reason. See, Alice saw her parents being burnt alive and at the end of the first game she got sent to Rutledge Asylum. While suffering from hallucinations (which are freakishly explained), Alice is sent to fetch medicine. Naturally, she follows a white cat along the way, and tumbles head first into a rabbit hole – which takes her back to Wonderland.

Once there, players are greeted by the Cheshire cat, which explains a couple of new laws. The surroundings are in stark contrast to the gloomy London that Alice left behind, but the danger has by no means diminished.

The graphics are a major improvement over the first title, and players will immediately notice a marked increase in the game’s performance. The level of detail includes intricate lace on some of Alice’s outfits while individual blades of grass scatter the landscape. There are certain things that could have been done a bit differently, such as details on trees and Alice’s facial expressions, but in general the graphics suffice for the job at hand.

The biggest aspect of the graphics is the twisted nature of the imagery and it’s really not the same Alice that people are used to from the Carol novel. The game carries a 16+ restriction, and it’s there for a reason. The strange and bloody scenes are enough to give anyone a slight nightmare.

In terms of controls, players will have to navigate Alice with fairly basic button combinations. As the game progress and Alice acquires more weapons, the combinations can become a bit tricky, but it’s not really a problem.

Speaking of weapons, Alice begins with the well-known Vorpal blade and a pepper grinder (don’t ask). At first they don’t deal much damage, but all the weapons in the title can be upgraded by means of collecting teeth, of all things. The starting weapons will soon pale in comparison to the other destructive gear that Alice can wield, which adds to the game’s crazy and psychotic ideas.

Story wise, the plot weaves in and out and sometimes it can be hard to remember what Alice is after. But that shouldn’t be a let-down, as each level is challenging in its own right – which will distract players from the bigger picture.

It’s a great game for fans of the first Alice title, but even newcomers to the franchise will find joy in it. There are some minor issues, such as camera angles and movement sensitivity, but players looking for an action-packed game will over-look those.

Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor