Still watching Disney's happy-go-lucky version of Alice In Wonderland? Well, here's a suggestion. Why don't you, take that video, and throw it out the window. Because American McGee's Alice is here and it's definitely not for the weak hearted. As for me, I rejoiced : Finally, someone with enough guts to go against Disney's version of Alice. In fact, it's a total perversion of Disney. For example : I don't remember Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum trying to kill you right? Still interested? So, with no further ado, let's get it on.
After the events in Disney's Alice In Wonderland, Alice has finally returned to her world. Unfortunately, Alice's house was razed in a fire shortly after, killing her parents in the process. This sudden chain of events turned Alice's world upside down, since she failed to save her parents in the fire. Pretty soon after, she managed to land herself at the Rutledge Asylum. Suddenly, without warning, just as Alice is about to retire for the night, she is flung down a vortex only to end up in Wonderland again. Except that it ain't so wonderful anymore. In fact, it's horrifying. Since Wonderland is part of Alice's mind, it too has turned as horrible as Alice's frame of mind. In her absence, the Queen Of Hearts has enslaved the residents of Wonderland, forcing them to live under a reign of terror. According to the White Rabbit, Alice is the prophesized savior. But she's not alone in her quest. The White Rabbit will guide you through the earlier parts of the game, until he gets... well I don't want to give a spoiler. The Cheshire Cat will provide you with hints and helpful clues in order to help you defeat the Queen Of Hearts and her minions once and for all.
Like I said before, American McGee's Alice isn't meant for everyone. Alice can wield Vorpal Blades, explosive Jackbombs, and even the freezingly cold Icewand. Some interesting animation sequences include Alice slicing guards in half, with blood spurting all over the place; Using the Icewand to freeze them in place; And simply blowing them away with explosive Jackbombs. One unique weapon I would like to point out is the Demon Dice. Every time you collect more Demon Dices, the demons within will evolve, transforming into even more and more horrifying and deadly playmates for your enemies. Simply roll the dice to create a portal into hell for your hellish friends to crawl out of. However, all weapons in the game share the same ammo, which is powered by will, regenerated by meta-essence, the life-force of Wonderland. Meta-essence also acts as health packs for Alice, otherwise known as Alice's Sanity. Sanity packs are found after slaughtering your enemies, so use these resources wisely, for the baddies can be pretty tough and powerful.
Also, along the way you'll need to perform many sub-quests to continue down on your path of vengeance. On one occasion, Alice has to retrieve the Turtle-cow's shell from the Duchess, who is now coincidently a flesh-eater. She also uses explosive pepper to do battle. After you "force" the Duchess to give up the shell, the turtle-cow will lead you to caterpillar, now an anonymous and cowardly hermit. Something new to the genre now is an enemy's ability to take a bite out of Alice, and then toss her away. I learnt this the hard way when an enemy ant soldier bit me and threw me off a cliff. Rough day, eh?
My favorite chapter in Alice is the Pale Realm, in Looking Glass Land. The gameplay there is unique, since it's staged in the White King's castle. To get to him, you'll have to fight in both the conventional style, as well as acting as a chess piece to get through various obstacles. The gameplay for Alice isn't that far off from being perfect. However, it is held back by one flaw, which is the inclusion of one-too-many of the ubiquitous jumping puzzles. If I wanted jumping puzzles, I would have broken out the old Super Nintendo and played Mario.
Not surprisingly, since McGee's on the team, Alice is based on Quake III's engine, although played in a third-person view, like Tomb Raider. But even Quake III, Tomb Raider or heck even Unreal Tournament's graphics don't stand a chance against Alice. The development team took great pains to make the environment seem hauntingly familiar to the Wonderland that we as children watched, varying from the Vale Of Tears, Looking Glass Land, The Fortress Of Doors, Queensland (not Australia mate), to many other hauntingly familiar places. Also, even in 640x480, details and textures like water reflections, burning torches, and even underwater bubbles are readily apparent and extremely sharp. Another interesting fact is that characters and enemies look both sick and demented, which is way cool because it adds to the haunting environment. In fact, the White Rabbit looks like he caught a severe case of food poisoning. Even the Cheshire Cat looks menacing with that grin of his.
The eerie music in Alice serves only to further promote the hauntingly scary atmosphere of the environment. From the Fortress Of Doors to Looking Glass Land, the music for Alice are extremely immersive. Equally as much effort was devoted to the sound effects for Alice, as they are very realistic. Heck, both the sounds and the music even sounded good on a pair of cheap traveling Taiwan speakers. Needless to say, when sampled through an ACS 48, the effect was significantly heightened.
Overall, the environment and gameplay for American McGee's Alice is very surreal, drawing you in until you finish the game entirely. The team for Alice has managed to do something that Carmarck has always dreamed of : An excellent action game with an equally fantastic storyline plus graphics, sound and music. Trust me, you do not want to miss out on American McGee's Alice, not unless sick and demented stuff makes you feel, well... sick. Here are some additional screen shots to spice up your appetite.
