Alice: Madness Returns

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

The original "American McGee's Alice" is probably my favorite game that I've never played. It's a shame I missed the boat on it, but I've always been a fan of the dark art style (especially applied to the Alice world which I love) and I listen to the spooky game soundtrack (which uses toy instruments) every Halloween season.



So I don't know how this news slipped by me until now, but a sequel is in the works, 11 years after the previous installment. This one will be available on PC but also PS3 and XBox360.



After feeling a bit disappointed with the Tim Burton Alice film, I'm hoping this game will give me the truly twisted vision of Wonderland I've been longing for.

Here are 3 teaser trailers for the game...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrjXLlsoPlI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUmLstbaK-g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZHFQ_oTXM4

[zombombie]

I never got to play the original. Never was much of a big PC gamer. This does look as though it might make its way into my console however...

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

The developers said they always pictured the original Alice game to be made for consoles, but it was PC only. I'm glad this new version will be available for the consoles though, since a controller seems like an appropriate way to play a platformer adventure game. Amazon has it listed for release December 31, 2011.

Here are a couple interviews that talk about what the gameplay will be like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaW7DmxLLS4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjWoZPF_ayw

[CombichristGirl]

I LOVED THE ORIGINAL!!!!!!! omg you have made my freaking day!!!!!!!! i will be getting this for sure

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

New trailer for the Alice game on YouTube shows a bit more of the actual gameplay:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up21p1_vTbI

Release date now listed as June 14, 2011

[zombombie]

Just discovered that if you buy it from play.com in the UK you get a free code to download the original game... Seems like a very sweet deal

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Good tip, Edinburghzombie. From what I gather, I think that offer might be standard with all XBox360 and PS3 copies of "Alice: Madness Returns." I guess they come with a code to allow a free download of the original Alice game via XBox Live and Playstation Network. So after a decade of wanting to play the first game, looks like I'll finally get my chance!

I pre-ordered the game from Amazon because they are offering this additional bonus:

"Pre-order Alice: Madness Returns and receive nine songs from the official Alice: Madness Returns Soundtrack, featuring all-new music by Chris Vrenna, formerly of Nine Inch Nails. A code to access the soundtrack will be emailed to you on the day your order ships. Offer valid when shipped and sold by Amazon.com."

I love the music from the original game, listening to it every Halloween season. So I'm excited to get these new tracks, and for free!

[zombombie]

That's excellent Glad the free download appears to be across the board! I'll need to keep and eye for a deal like the one you've gone for, hopefully there are other cheeky wee pre-order bonuses going around

[CombichristGirl]

aww! poop on a stick smacks face why did i buy brink lol.no its awesome to lol i cant lie park core call of duty

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Well, I now own "Alice: Madness Returns," for XBox 360 but haven't played it yet. As advertised, the game comes with a code which allows you to download the original 2000 game, "American McGee's Alice." So I thought I should play through that first.

Being 11 years old, I thought the graphics might look horribly dated. But surprisingly they're not too bad. The game format follows many of the classic gaming conventions (especially from the era) such as a swimming world, an ice world, etc. Gradual weapon acquisition and end zone boss fights where you seek out your enemy's weakness.

I remember hearing criticisms about "American McGee's Alice" back in the day, often about the poor controls. They aren't too horrid, once you get used to her movement. But still, she's not the easiest character to control. Made even more difficult with all the platforming segments! Having trouble with your jumping accuracy? Let's force you to land on small moving platforms over bottomless pits. Not tricky enough? Let's make some of them covered with slippery ice!

Some levels would be torture, if not for the ability to perform a quick-save at any moment. No worries about having to go all the way back to a predetermined check point. As soon as you clear any tricky area, create another save file!

So the old game may have it's faults, but I'm still having fun with it. Greatly helped by the twisted Alice theme. I'm willing to endure a bit of frustration to enjoy the creative visuals. This isn't the Wonderland you remember as a kid. And I love that mangy cat, with that smooth voice delivering his cryptic speeches.

And as I've mentioned many times, I love the soundtrack. After listening to it over the past decade (usually around Halloween) it's almost strange to hear these oh-so-familiar tunes in a video game I had never played until now.

Once I finally play the new game, "Alice: Madness Returns" I will let you know what I think. But with Halloween season almost upon us, I may not have time for that until after October.

[zombombie]

I'm still very tempted by this, I think I'll pick it up in the next few months depending on how my other gaming exploits go...

Ryan, does the original "American McGee's Alice" contain achievements?

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Ryan, does the original "American McGee's Alice" contain achievements?

Indeed it does. 6 achievements, for a total of 100 gamer points. 10 points for completing each major area, and 50 points for beating the game.

"American McGee's Alice" is actually treated as add-on content to the new "Alice: Madness Returns." In other words, you don't load the old game itself from the XBox dashboard. You launch the new game, and the old game is available among the downloaded content area of the game menus (assuming you downloaded it with the code).

The achievements are similarly connected. The points earned while playing the old game will be listed under your Madness Returns achievements.

I've recently taken this dive down the rabbit hole during breaks from ZP work, because I was hoping that the twisted visuals might inspire my design projects. And I think it's working. Another sip of this "drink me" bottle might also do the trick....

[GUS]

Ez, don't know about achievments, however most old games (xbox) don't do achievements, merely let you play old games, Rogue trooper is a prime example of that, great 2000ad character, quietly released game, really worked the original xbox, plays superbly on 360.

I'm still waiting for a 360 proper "Syndicate wars" ..then i'll be so happy!
playing old games on modern consoles is a bonus pure & simple, shame the bods at microsoft don't pay more attention to back catalogues & tweak for achievements & playability.
Once a gamer, always a gamer with modern consoles.
when will they learn?

Always nice when an old game you could only stew over past glories comes good!
Have fun Ryan, AFTER you've completed re-hashing the latest ZP.

(which I cannot say needs a total overhaul, just the annual name-change, ..don't make too much work for yourself for goodness sake, ..ruddy perfectionist! )

[zombombie]

Syndicate Wars! There's a blast from the past

Thanks for the info Ryan. Glad they've included achievements in the "re-release" if you can call it that.