After the recent release of “Alice: Madness Returns,” I picked up a copy. With each copy, console gamers also got a free download of the original “American McGee’s Alice.” Before playing the new Alice, I had to go back and beat the original again. While many things were just as I had remembered, I’m glad I played through it again. The story, characters, and graphics for the most part have aged well for a ten year old game, and as for the rest, I’m hoping that the kinks in gameplay will be worked out in the sequel.
“Alice” starts off with quite a dramatic cutscene explaining the basic plot to the story. It is definitely not Lewis Carroll’s canon material. Yet it does give the player a chance to explore a much darker Wonderland. This is not the Disney version of the famous realm; it’s more akin to a nightmare world. You’ll see all the familiar characters, such as the Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, and the Caterpillar, but darkly modified. The plot is pretty unique, so I won’t spoil anything here. The dialogues, between Alice and the Cat especially, are pretty entertaining, and rely on sarcasm and quick wit, plus the occasional serious plot-related theme. It’s actually quite creative, taking the same overarching theme from the books and turning it around, looking at it in a different light.
You’ll traverse areas such as the Caterpillar’s forest and the Red Queen’s castle, and you will also fight your way through a clockwork factory and school. The environments in the game are, for the most part, seriously creepy, and look as if they belong in a survival horror game. The insane asylum and school look very similar. Both have strangely-proportioned rooms, platforms that lead to nowhere, and long guarded corridors with strange statues or random flying objects. Both feature diminutive nutcases who run around with goofy smiles on their faces and huge metal contraptions on their heads, presu
mably from a lobotomy. Some are making funny noises, others are crying, and still others are punching themselves in the faces. In one area, you’ll face what I think are cousins to Half Life’s headcrabs with neurotoxins, or maybe Sid’s baby doll/spider thing from Toy Story. These not-quite-right creatures, in addition to the broken and bent scenery (literally), help lend these areas a twisted feel.
Combat is one of the game’s weaker elements. Alice is always strafing, so maneuvering around enemies and platforming can be tricky. Most of the enemies in the game are somewhat lackluster in their variety, and the bosses can be a bit of a bore. The main enemy is the generic playing card in its many incarnations, but more creative enemies including the Boojum, a kind of flying banshee, chess pieces, and giant robots. Some enemies are downright easy to defeat, and for others, you’ll have to use a bit more strategy. For example, ranged weapons work best on the Boojum, and the best strategy I found for fighting robots was calculated retreat. The boss battles are somewhat challenging, but once you’ve found each boss’s weakness, it’s usually just a matter of waiting until your magic regenerates so you can continue to use your good weapons. Then it’s just rinse and repeat, usually with the use of only one or two weapons.
Despite the lack of variety in enemies, there are quite a few fun toys and weapons to play with in this game. My go-to weapon is the crochet mallet, with its ranged attack and close quarters melee capabilities. For many enemies in tight spaces, the Jack in the Box flame thrower is quite effective. If you like fire, there’s the Jabberwock Eye staff that acts like a laser, and there’s the Ice Wand for you ice types. Fun!
There are a few other problems with the game as well. Do not rely on the game’s auto-save function. I found myself saving at least every 30 seconds during difficult sections. Otherwise, I’d have to replay entire levels. It is a very linear game that does not encourage a lot of extra exploration, so don’t expect to be able to wander about in the madness. You’ll have to solve puzzles that are often almost too easy and perform platforming moves that aren’t so easy with Alice’s constant strafing. For example, to collect the parts of a growth potion, you need to visit various parts of the school, then maybe fight a Cardguard or two.
Gameplay issues aside, you should play this game for three reasons. The weapons are pretty cool and fun to use, whether you’re using it against the same old enemies or in a lengthy boss fight. The environments and characters are close enough to the originals that it feels familiar, yet they’re done with such a different interpretation that it feels almost like an opposite world. But it’s the story that really gets you through this game. Every twisted character, every creepy location, every plot turn tells you a lot about what’s happened to Alice, and also what she’ll have to go through to change it all back. Don’t let my little criticisms turn you off from playing
this game; it’s still an entertaining game, especially on the first playthrough. Let’s see what the sequel has in store for us too in my next review!
Filed under: Games, Video Games | Tagged: action-adventure, Alice, game, review, third person, Video Games | Leave a Comment »
hidden pet in one level. Unfortunately, my jungle rampage was short lived and not repeated during the first world. Based on my research, he seems to be the only pet available. Even worse, the first boss, a spiky slug-like affair, looked like he belonged in Pikmin, not Donkey Kong. At least the music was fine or taken right from the old games.
Some of the original comic style has been preserved in the movie: an introduction to Scott’s apartment includes labels on the items in it, straight from a comic panel, and some of Ramona’s flashbacks are cartoon/comic style. Video game references abound in this movie as well; enemies explode into coins and give Scott points when defeated, for example. Scott and Knives play a rhythm/martial arts arcade game called Ninja Ninja Revolution, and Scott’s pickup line for Ramona is a story about the origins of Pac-Man. The band is named for the Mario Bros. enemy. There are tons more; for a list of every video game reference in the movie click here: 
In 2006 Bethesda Softworks released Oblivion, the much anticipated fourth game in the massive RPG series The Elder Scrolls. Two years later, they came out with the third game in the FPS roleplaying Fallout series, which was also raved about even before its release. The two newest games in these role playing series have a lot of things in common, but which one has better stats overall?
No spoilers here, but Oblivion’s many quest lines are much more involving and lead to much nicer perks than Fallout, especially compared to its somewhat disappointing final cutscene. Fallout’s story is not without intrigue though; quests often involve more options based on your character’s ethics, such as the quest chain involving Megaton and its unexploded atomic bomb.
As an FPS, Fallout’s combat options revolve around gunplay and, to a lesser extent, melee fighting. The V.A.T.S. (Vault Assisted Targeting System) is a nice way to make every shot count, with the option of turning battles into somewhat more turn based affairs, kind of like bullet-time. Oblivion’s options are based on stealth, magic, and melee combat. Though the V.A.T.S. system makes battle a bit easier, combat in Oblivion offers more options to combine specialties without forcing any choices.
Does your house have large windows? Or a fire escape? Do you live on a hill? Plan your defenses accordingly. Be prepared with some planks of wood and other fortifications, or prepare to relocate to a more appropriate fortress. Keep in mind your work place too, or other places you frequent.
Do some more research so you’ll be able to identify signs that the initial outbreak is imminent, symptoms of zombification, and the first signs of widespread panic. You should also consider life after Z-Day. No more traffic, no more fast food, no new tv shows… life is going to be very different, so you’ll have to adjust to being a minority in the new zombie culture. Luckily, you still have some time to prepare for your new life!
As video games have become more popular and accessible to everyone, they’ve been featured in more tv shows and movies than ever. No longer do people plug away at the Nintendo GameBoy “brick;” now Grandma’s got a Wii in her living room (and has no idea how to use it). Yet the changes in the way games are depicted in popular media have largely been superficial, and often make certain implications about games and the people who play them.
Popular media sometimes features people talking about or playing Xbox, or maybe Wii. But the 360 is usually a symbol for the hardcore gamer, or someone who has no life (see Grandma’s Boy). The computer is a more commonly seen console now, although many interface elements are eliminated for the sake of the uninitiated viewer (World of Warcraft is featured in Zombieland and a recent episode in South Park). It’s rare to see people playing racing or shooting games, and when people play DDR in movies they look like “retards trying to hump a doorknob” without regard for actually hitting the buttons (–Dodgeball).
Stereotypes are powerful things. The more people are aware of these stereotypes, the more they’ll use them. Sure it’s funny to watch people leaping furiously at a game of DDR, but it may offend the true gamer in its complete inaccuracy. All of these depictions reflect a different kind of genre/gamer. Playing Mario Party with casual gamers can bring the kind of laughter so common in Wii commercials, and playing Bejeweled or Peggle may turn you into a zombie, but I believe it’s more common to see people getting engaged in games for their own sake. Maybe years from now, when the current gamer generation grows up, we will see middle-aged moms on tv playing Final Fantasy, or old men reminiscing about the Wii’s great retro games. The landscape of gaming is changing, and media has a lot of work to do to catch up.
