Games

Alice: Madness Returns

Alice Madness Returns takes place a decade after the conclusion of the original game American McGee’s Alice, but things have been less than rosy for our young damsel in distress. After being institutionalised in the Rutledge insane asylum, a broken, dispirited and struggling Alice continues dealing with the trauma of losing her family after her home burnt down. But not only is madness consuming poor Alice, but it has taken a massive toll on Wonderland. During the intro we listen to her psychiatrist as he is trying to bring Alice to terms with what is reality as opposed to her ‘hallucinations’. Alice soon starts to realise that there are answers hidden deep within her mind that may be the key to both recovering her sanity and unravelling the mystery of her family’s untimely demise.

American McGee has designed a game that exceptionally portrays a Wonderland gone mad, where darkness reigns and Alice must dig deep into the recesses of her mind to recover her memories and discover why her world has been turned upside down. This game is certainly not for the young ones who have fond memories of the little girl who fell down the rabbit hole. Its darkness is portrayed in all its miserable glory. In the reality world Alice is the object of much mirth and scorn; she is the crazy orphan girl who killed her family. Victorian London (where she now resides) is a wretched city where everyone is desperately trying to survive, poverty is rife and no one should be trusted. Even her fellow orphan children seem to be nasty little rats that have nothing particularly nice to say to Alice.

In Chapter One you are given a glimpse of Alice’s reality at the orphanage, where you are soon chasing a cat through the streets of London until finally (I wont give you any spoilers) falling deep into the pit of Alice’s mind – and ultimately Wonderland. The starting area ‘The Vale of Tears’ is more of a tutorial that gives you the chance to come to grips with Alice’s abilities. But it doesn’t take long before you as Alice, will have to slice and dice your way through Wonderland, collecting teeth to upgrade various weapons including her trusty Vorpal Blade (slashing weapon), Hobby Horse (cudgel), Pepper Grinder (machine gun) and Teapot Cannon (similar to a grenade launcher). Throughout Wonderland you can search out hidden memories that are the keys to saving Wonderland, Alice and discovering a truth that may change her life.

This is a stunning yet chaotic world, with environments that match Alice’s now twisted and confused mind. The game is dark yet artistically vivid, with beautifully drawn characters and landscapes. It mixes up intense combat and puzzle elements as well as platforming where Alice is able to jump and pirouette in her exploration of this strange new world. Alice also has the ability to shrink at will. In this form she gains a new perspective on her surroundings which allows her to see hidden platforms or clues to what she must do next. Exploration is an important aspect to the game; you will even need to carefully listen for the oink oink of ‘pigsnouts’ (a pigs snout with wings) as when you find them and spray them with your pepper grinder they can unlock new areas for you.

There is a fair amount of game time here. Alice Madness Returns is comprised of six fairly large chapters each with its own unique look and set of problems for Alice to solve. There is a ton of variety on offer, from the puzzles, platforms, and combat to some strolls through pictures in 2D paper cut-out environments or underwater submarine shooting levels. Every inch of this game is rich in colour and drawn beautifully. Some of these odd levels may feel a little out of place but they provide a bit of variety which I enjoyed.

The puzzle elements are very clever, with two tools to assist you: your never ending supply of exploding clockwork rabbits (which can be used as weights as well as a weapon) and your innate ability to shrink so that you can see hidden platforms and messages. The only gripe I do have is with some of difficulty spikes in a few of the platforming levels – there are instances where you must shrink to observe invisible moving platforms, then grow to make jumps, place your rabbit on see-saw type platform then run back to the newly risen platform before your exploding rabbit clock runs out and returns the see-saw to its starting position. Sound confusing? Well I can tell you at times you will need a serious amount of patience to get through, but I can honestly say that the game is worth it, and these issues don’t crop up often.

The enemies you face are cleverly designed so that specific weapons and tactics are required to survive. You’ll face creepy doll-face enemies through to card soldiers, samurai insects and all manner of fascinating foes, but our heroine has all she needs at her disposal. When things get really dicey and Alice’s health is low she can enter a special power up mode called Hysteria – she’ll go into a rage that looks great and makes her temporarily invulnerable as well as inflicting double damage in combat.

The storytelling is a key motivation for travelling through Wonderland; you’ll want to know what is happening, how it will all pan out and put together all the strange memories. The game oozes rich imagery and atmosphere; it’s not just a typical hack n slash. With all the variety on offer, and intelligence to the combat there isn’t much not to like. I loved the game and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a bit of platforming, puzzle solving and at times often frenetic combat.

9/10

PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360