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American McGee's Alice (Madness Returns or otherwise)

Started by Noodle Lizard, January 05, 2012, 05:00:23 PM

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Noodle Lizard

I've been tempted by Madness Returns for a while - it seems to have that dark videogame humour that I like, and I like the overall concept.  But is it actually any good?  Give me your reviews, I don't trust Amazon.

Dark Sky

When I was younger I really liked the original game, but never got very far with it, so I was eager to give Madness Returns a try, and did end up playing it all the way through.

I found it a bit of a mixed bag...  The gameplay gets incredibly repetitive, with each level just going on and on and on, and there's all these random minigames dropped in which are quite novel at first, but then when you get three of the same thing appearing in the same level it gets so tedious.  It should have been a nine hour game, not a fifteen hour game.

But the thing is, it's not really a game you play for the gameplay; you really want the warped twisted visuals of a dark, gothic, nasty Alice in Wonderland.  And when it delivers...my god, it really really delivers.  There is some breathtaking design work in this game, with the stand out for me being the Queen of Hearts' castle...absolutely terrific! 

Sadly a few of the other locations are very plain by comparison, including the almost compulsory "ice world" and "molten lava factory", plus a weak Eastern inspired one which didn't work for me at all.  But the others are - as I said - inspired.  Especially the creepy Dollhouse world towards the end.

Overall I found it middling to disappointing, though with moments of absolute inspired genius.  If you're interested in the visuals, definitely give it a try; it's worth the slog through the longer levels to see all the worlds.

(If you're thinking of playing it on PC I do recommend using an XBox 360 controller, and checking all the forums out there to figure out how to get round several nasty bugs)

Jemble Fred

I reviewed it for XBW, but have lost the Word document and CVG never uploaded it.

My summary was 'Aw, meh', anyway. Got too samey too quickly.

mook

i bought it on a whim when it first came out, got about two thirds of the way through until i got distracted by portal2 i think. it's ok, certainly looks good anyway - probably wasn't worth the full price i payed, but i imagine you'd be able to pick it up quite cheaply now. thinking about it, my copy came with the first game bundled with it.

Noodle Lizard

£12.99 and includes the first game too (in HD, don't you know).  Fuck it, I'll get it.  £12.99 is less than I'd spend on a takeaway of an evening.

Jemble Fred

Yeah, the free download of the first game was the main silver lining to my review, it's not a bad package. In fact, I'm quite tempted myself at that price...

But then I get a memory of having to twat a BILLION teapots or whatever, each one taking three stages of convoluted attack to finish off.

Sexton Brackets Drugbust

I got this for Christmas - this Christmas was great because I ended up with all the games I was interested in throughout 2011, but not enough to buy at full price while there were other more essential titles knocking about at the same time.

The art direction and access to the original in HD were the main draws for me, too.

The speed at which game prices drop these days is astonishing. No idea why I still occasionally buy titles at lanch price, but I do.

Noodle Lizard

I just got it and I absolutely fucking love it!  I've only played for a few hours so far but I can't see me getting bored of it anytime soon.

Maybe it's just playing directly into my hands cos its so "dark n goffik", but it's also one of the most imaginative and atmospheric games I've ever played.  Beats Skyward Sword so far, anyway!

Jemble Fred

Do you not find the Victorian asylum framing section really jagged and ugly and pointless? I just feel there was such a missed opportunity to do something clever with that framing device. Then again, it is a platformer, not an RPG.

Noodle Lizard

Quote from: Jemble Fred on January 06, 2012, 02:55:09 PM
Do you not find the Victorian asylum framing section really jagged and ugly and pointless? I just feel there was such a missed opportunity to do something clever with that framing device. Then again, it is a platformer, not an RPG.

I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to.  So far I'm at the Mad Hatter's crib in the sky.  Teapots are coming at me left right and centre.

Jemble Fred

You only reach Wonderland through the cutscene-loaded section in the Victorian asylum? The hub you return to after every level?

Noodle Lizard

Quote from: Jemble Fred on January 06, 2012, 03:04:15 PM
You only reach Wonderland through the cutscene-loaded section in the Victorian asylum? The hub you return to after every level?

Clearly I haven't finished a level yet!  I started out in the orphanage, walked around London, fell into Wonderland and I've been stuck there ever since.  I didn't think I was playing particularly slowly ...

Jemble Fred

Oh, orphanage then. I was sure it was an asylum, sorry. Still a missed opportunity there in my book.

Noodle Lizard

Quote from: Jemble Fred on January 06, 2012, 03:11:38 PM
Oh, orphanage then. I was sure it was an asylum, sorry. Still a missed opportunity there in my book.

I liked the atmosphere of it while it lasted.  I don't really know what else could have been done there.

I think what I really like about it is that I always wanted to see or read a really twisted version of the story, since I found the book itself to have a lot of potential for being quite a dark story.  I stupidly thought that Tim Burton's film adaptation would deliver the goods, but it felt more like being violated by an emo with candyfloss.

Dark Sky

Glad you're enjoying the game, Noodle Lizard!  (But you will get bored of it, I promise.)

Quote from: Noodle Lizard on January 06, 2012, 03:23:04 PMI stupidly thought that Tim Burton's film adaptation would deliver the goods, but it felt more like being violated by an emo with candyfloss.

The Burton Alice film was so bizarre...it couldn't seem to make up its mind whether it was a retelling of the original story, or a sequel set in a ruined, dystopian version of Wonderland.  As it is, the script claimed it was a ruined Wonderland, yet the visuals showed a beautiful, perfect world.  Possible Disney interference?  Definitely seems like people were trying to pull it in different directions.