Alice: Madness Returns

A few months ago, I started, played through and finished Alice Madness Returns, totally skipping the first part of the story that came out on pc years ago. American McGee’s Alice was on my list of horror fantasy games to play for many years before I got into playing titles like Fatal Frame, Silent Hill or Resident Evil, but console gaming proved easier for me.

Alice Madness Returns follows the story of a dark haired Alice in a world that makes Tim Burton’s universes very Disney like. She is on a journey to saving herself in a dreary and depressing normal life and saving her own world, Wonderland from destructive outer forces and demonic looking foes with the help of a very sinister looking wide grinned Cat and unusual items for weapons. This mangy cat gives you very interesting advice, not only for in game usage, but interesting quotes to think on in general. Curiouser and curiouser!

Her story gets darker throughout gameplay, shifting from general strangeness to the downright absurd and disturbing as you uncover parts of characters’ backgrounds and Alice’s story about the fire. Playing this game gave me a lot of “WTF” moments as my original memory of Alice in Wonderland as a fun and delightfully weird children’s tale was turned inside out with no effs given. There was still some of the charm within the game, but with the downright evilness of some of the characters and the helplessness of some of the others and very sickening depictions of olden day mental asylums, this game breathed a different kind of life into a tale a lot of us have known.

I loved the Chesire cat’s and Alice’s updated character design from the first game, and also the graphics for the gameplay. I also admired the weapon designs to help it fit in this dark/dystopian/disturbing Wonderland. The game boards or places that she visited were done in a very creative manner to fit within this dark wonderland and I loved exploring them and seeing what each level had to offer in terms of surprises.

I had to get used to the gameplay and not losing important battles, but I caught on quickly, and didn’t experience too many problems like with the game that came before with movement and quickness of responsiveness. (gameplay issues) The gameplay had progressed with this second installment and did not distract from the story line, nor did it make me overly frustrated which is a plus.

Being into fashion and special abilities when it comes to games and replay value of a game, this game came through with different styled outfits for Alice to wear. The tentacle like dress and the Chesire styled ones were my favorites! I would totally replay this game and unlock more of the story line and hidden content.

Have you had a chance to play Alice Madness Returns? What did you think about it? Don’t be shy! Share your experience with us!