Alice: Madness Returns Review

I really found myself dissapointed at the end I don't get very many WTF? moments but this game gave it to me. Loved the first one this one fell very short sure its pretty but it lacks anything that would make it great. I don't really care about collectibles I wasn't into this game enough to get into that thank god I sold my copy to my freind for $40. Very dissapointed in Mcgee all in all I would give it a 5.9 out of 10 the game lacked something pulling it past anything else out right now. If it was more adventure like then I would be all over that, but not being able to explore the wonderland as much as I would've enjoyed was very annoying to me. I always start my games on the game mode under hard, but even hard mode was pretty detrimental. Overall very pretty just lacked anything to set it apart I demand a good remake shame on you mcgee and EA.  

I for one am really enjoying the game. If you like old school platformers then I'd suggest checking it out. Nice graphics, level design, combat, enemies and puzzles. The story may not be great but this kind of game doesn't really need it. It has peppering snouts after all...

não sou muito fã de jogos de ação, mas esse vale a pena comprar

Acabei de comprar. To loco pra chegar xD

Exellent review! I was just never really interested in this game.  Not really a fan of alice in wonderland or any of those kind of things.

I loved this game. All 15 hours of it.  Exactly what I needed in a platformer. Thank you.

Completely agree.  The visual design is fantastic but unfortunately the player is not allowed to truly become immersed in the twisted world.  Would have been nice to be able to venture off and explore, with the ability to find other interesting characters, etc.  I guess a bit more open world.

make one about the three little bears and and use the bears from naughty bear. then they can hunt and kill the wolf and his minions. id buy that! make happen rockstar haha

yheeaaa this is a good game

Very well written review and I think the score here is spot on. I think that the platforming and overall design of the game is linear and "old-fashioned", in the way that you defeat enemies, hit a switch, open a new area. But I enjoy it, it's a simple game wrapped up in a fantastic world. Combat is satisfying, and each enemy has a particular vulnerability. The platforming segments increase in difficulty, and can feel cheap every once in a while, but nothing that makes you want to quit or give up because the checkpoint system is so forgiving. I enjoyed the combat AND the platforming/puzzle elements. Sure, they use the same formula throughout, but they grow on each other, becoming more difficult and interesting as the game goes on. 

Here's where we disagree. I find the setting and especially the collectibles as things that drive the game. The beautifully crafted world IS linear, but it's dripping with so much creativity that I couldn't help but be blown away by it. I also found Alice to be unique in the same way that she plays in the books. Alice is never a really deep character, instead she is more or less a participant in a fucked up world. Wonderland and it's inhabitants are the main characters. Alice has been spruced up with her backstory, and honestly, I enjoyed finding all the collectibles. The audio logs fleshed out characters, teeth helped you upgrade your weapons, and by using your shrink ability, you can find very hidden areas that usually have some goodies in them. I often found myself trying to leave the straightforward path to go into a keyhole or hidden ledge so I could pepper more snouts or find audio logs, because I enjoyed the backstory THAT much. 

I think the game's overall design is traditional in every way. It's a straightforward action/adventure platforming puzzle game. They break up the mold by introducing new elements, increasing the difficulty, and having some interesting minigames (the side scrolling ship battle for example). I think the game does have some faults, platforming can be iffy, combat won't blow you away - honestly, the elements are something we have all seen before. But alice does SO much right with it's narrative, world, and characters, that I found myself enjoying this game WAY more then I thought I would. 

B- , you'll love this trip down the rabbit's hole : ) 

I havent played a platformer in awhile. Alice was a very enjoyable experience with good game mechanics.

I just beat it yesterday and have started a new playthrough to find the things i missed. I really Love this game. There were some small things I thought could have bee left out like some of the mini games but it wasnt enough to make me not like the game. I have always been an Alice in Wonderland Fan I love the books and I pretty much like most things that Involve Alice so I guess maybe I am bias :)

What a nice surprise!! not sorry i spent the $ on it..... good review... it almost makes up for the duke nukem one! lol

Im pretty sure the developers for this were striving more towards the art and a not so frustrating annoying gameplay like most platformers. I preorder and bought alice for my lady which she just beat today, I let her play the game alone first just to see if it was worthy of my chance to even pick up and she said it was very enjoyable graphically and playing wise. She said it was very story based and she didn't feel like it needed to get over complicated with anyhting. I've started the game on nightmare its a whole lot of fun taking my time with the monster's extreme dominance love a fight chanllenge in platformers it doesn't get stale like DMC

I really like this game (PC version). Graphically it looks really good, and the art style and story is really compelling. I use my xbox controller and the controls are great too. I've played several hours now, and it reminds me of Psychonauts... a LOT. From the facial design of the children to the platforming, to some of the art choices. I'd give it a solid B, and if you like platformers, story, adventure and think the art design is cool then I highly recommend it.

X-play gave this game a 2/5 so I won't complain about the 1up grade. But I think a lot of the reviews so far are being too critical. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed playing any sort of platformer. Mario Galaxy is the only other game in recent memory that comes to mind.

This is going to turn into one of those games people wish they had played... just like the first one.

Whilst I'm digging the art direction, the gameplay's starting to get extremely repetitive - and I'm only at the end of chapter 2! If you're a fan of old school platformers - it plays a bit like Rayman 2, but with Zelda's combat - I'd suggest giving it a go, but maybe wait for a price drop before buying it outright. Saying that, it's done enough to make me track down a used copy of the original (for just £6 as well), and I'll definitely be finishing this one during the rental, if only to see the rest of the worlds.

This got a B minus? I might pick this up in the future....

I'm still picking this up as soon as I get payed. I've played the origonal on PC countless times, and I still can't get enough. THis is gorgeous, and I, for one, cannot wait for next Friday to get here.

The title kinda craps on the game, but the grade is still pretty decent. I hate the sensationalism in the media these days.

"I appreciate the re-imagined supporting cast... but each character is sadly much more interesting than Alice herself."

Well, duh, that's kind of the point!  Alice is the "straight man (er, woman)" in a mad world; that's where all of the humor and dramatic tension comes from.  Saying that she's not as interesting as the Mad Hatter or the hookah-smoking Caterpillar is silly... the fact that she is prim and proper and doesn't belong in Wonderland is what a) makes it funny and b) drives the entire plot.

We played the original on PC together when it first came out.  When she saw the trailers for this she was very excited.  I was kinda nervous that it might not be very good because no one was talking about it, and American McGee hasn't had the greatest track record as of lately.  We picked it up on day one and to my surprise it is pretty good.  Their are definitely some issues with gameplay design and technical glitches, but we have really enjoyed it so far.  Maybe because I had low expectations for it or the fact we are playing through it together has affected my opinion, but either way, we like it.  We're 3 levels in and I would give it a B so far, if I were grading it.  She would probably give it a B+/A- because she loves the source material and art design so much.  BTW Hysteria mode is wicked!

I hope you guys are wrong. I've been wanting to play this for quite some time! Thanks for the input though.

I've antcipated Alice Madness Returns for awhile! I even have the original laying around somewhere. It's sad most of the reviews for this game are below average but I hope it becomes a sleeper hit at the very least.

Im playing through this game right now and I definitely think it deserves at least a B+. The artistic design along with enemy variation, and specific designed domains alone warrants a B+. The combat system is simple but very rewarding and their is a method to demolishing each enemy! I think the pepper grinder is a great twist to this game( by far my favorite weapon) and the game includes tons of hidden items and memories which to me seem to be piecing the story together slowly. All in All I really like Alice and it brings a unique experience.

I love the art style.

this review and game will go completely unnoticed buy most people but utter garbage like DNF will be purchased talked about all week.

Someone at 1up actually played the game they reviewed, prior to writing a review. And look, they also looked at the game objectively. THIS IS MADNESS!!!!

Most honest review I've seen.  It is straigt forward and pretty linear.  But how many games aren't, even Ratchet and Clank are straight forward and linear and you fight the same crap over and over, yet those get such high praise.  I love this game, I think a B- is an good score, I'd give it a B.  All the reviewers giving it a 5 and below are crazy if they think this game is soooo much worse than other platformers of similar design.

This is one of the better scores I've seen this game receive. I still want to play it but I'll probably not get it until I've tried it first. I was so looking forward to this game.

I was not expecting it to get a B, I thought it would get a C or something but I was pleasantly suprised!  I was not really expecting that much from it.

a B- grade sounds about right, from what i've played so far. not 2 mention U get the 1st game as a free download, w/ the code included inside the case.

it's a very beautiful game, cool art direction, good voice acting, but feels like it's just missing a little something 2 make it an A grade. definitely worth it, if the price is lowered or as a rental for a weekend play through. 

See above. I can deal with style over substance to a certain extent, and I like linear platformers (so long as they mix it up a bit). I'm about to finish the madhatter's stage, so I'm still pretty early on...

Kinda' sad that I don't see many reviewers mentioning the inclusion of the original American McGee's Alice. I've played up to the second chapter so far, and it looks like a phenomenal port.

Still excited to play it just for the look of the game.