This review is meant to be for both this first game, and its recent sequel, "Alice: Madness Returns." American McGee's "Alice" series and I have an interesting relationship: when it first came out, I hated it. Now, I SORT OF like it...my tastes changed with my age, and, as they did, so did my liking of these games. By the time the sequel came out, I was looking forward to it.
There are a few specific things I like about this game: first of all, the Cheshire Cat, to put it very frankly, is AWESOME. The husky purr of his voice...the skeletal appearance...the manic grin...the constant speaking in riddles...to quote the Joker, "I don't know if it's art, but I like it!"
Then there's the music: this series has, arguably, some of the most hauntingly beautiful (and sometimes just plain haunting) tunes I have ever heard. I think my favorites have to be "Riding on Wings of Steam" and the Boss Theme for the Mad Hatter, both from the first game, and "Hyde Park" from the second. Music box chimes, ticking clockwork, and the "toy-like" quality of several pieces of music heighten the horror of these games.
Thirdly: just the styling, to be honest. The character twists are interesting, if sometimes odd (how did the Hatter become obsessed with Time, again?), and their appearances are often so depraved the player/audience is often left saying, "What the heck happened to YOU?" (In a good way, if that makes any sense.) Some characters – like the Duchess, the Jabberwock, the Gryphon, and Alice herself – are sort of a "warped Tenniel," on par with the designs in "Dreamchild;" close to the famous illustrations, but still obviously...off. Most, however, are so far off from the designs it's hard to believe what has become of some of our cherished childhood characters. For the twisted psychopath lurking in every Carrollian and/or video game lover's heart, this is good. The Wonderland landscape is pretty much the same: the gory grounds of Queensland, the rigid order in the chaos of the Pale Realm, the steampunk dungeons of the Mad Hatter's Domain, the misty marshes of the Vale of Tears (especially in the first game, regarding this one), and, from the second game, the "Roald-Dahl-in-depression" feel to the Dollhouse, are all strange, darkly beautiful, and horrific, all at once.
All this being said, for all the things I like about these games, there's just as many things I dislike: first of all, the gameplay. As a take on "Alice," these are really, really good. But as video games, I hate to play them: I find the camera and the control system frustrating, and the endless battles with Snarks, Boojums, Phantasmagoria, and Card Guards from the first game, along with the contrasting lack of bosses in the second, confuse and irritate me. This leads into a second problem: these games focus so much on being GAMES that the story gets lost along the way. This is especially true in this first installment: wandering through this surreally scary Wonderland is okay, but to get any idea of what's REALLY going on, you have to read Wilson's Casebook WHILE you're playing the game. I mean, what's the point? Couldn't we just put those same things into the game itself? The second game fixes this, sort of...but there are still unanswered questions and uncertainties at the end of the run through. This may be intentional, or maybe I'm just missing something, but it bugs me.
Perhaps ironically – and I may get a good deal of hateful words for this – my third, and main, problem, is Alice herself. I really don't like her. Oh, she has her reasons to be cynical, callous, and cruel...she has her reasons to destroy and horribly mangle everything she faces...but I don't like her. In this first game, it's not too much of a problem: she's extremely violent, but that's to be expected, and her reactions are more believable: she's annoyed with certain characters, hateful towards others, and even has friendliness for a few. In the second game however, she seems cold-hearted toward everyone and everything. I guess you could say that it's because she is going through some hard times, and can't trust anyone in the real world, so Wonderland would reflect that...but she cries when Cheshire Cat dies in the first game, but seems to hate him almost as much as the Queen in the second. If you'll pardon the expression: what's up with that?
All that being said, this game is a little over half-&-half in my mind: it's an intriguing take on Carroll's universe, and these games contain the world's greatest Cheshire Cat...but inconsistencies in the story, and, for me at least, frustrating gameplay, drag it down from being the best. Still, video game fanatics, and lovers of "Alice", should check this out: you won't believe your eyes.
0 out of 1 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
