Alice: Madness Returns

by Electronic Arts

• Use multiple upgradeable melee weapons, including the explosive Teapot Cannon, the punishing Hobby Horse, and the classic Vorpal Blade
• Encounter familiar, but now strange characters including the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the Catapillar and the Red Queen
• Obtain peculiar abilities in Wonderland such as floating with Alice's dress, shrinking and growing to towering sizes in order to crush enemies
• Intuative and rewarding puzzles such as transforming obstacles, musical memories chess and picture blocks
• Delight in the whims of the ever-changing visual aspects of the gameworld which visually affect everything in the game, including Alice and her attire

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B004CDBP9G
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches ; 3.2 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: June 14, 2011
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (188 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,018 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Platform: PLAYSTATION 3

Amazon.com

Alice: Madness Returns is an Action-Adventure game that delves deep into the dark and violent side of the imagination, creating a nightmarish Wonderland where Alice must face the demons that haunt her visions. Visit the grim reality of Victorian London and then travel to the beautiful yet ghastly Wonderland to uncover the root of Alice's madness and discover the truth behind a deadly secret, kept hidden for years. Features include: upgradable melee weapons and magic abilities, a shattered gameword filled with altered versions of Lewis Carroll's famous characters and intuitive and rewarding puzzle play.

Return to a Very Different Wonderland

Eleven years ago a horrific fire took Alice's family from her and left her mind horrifically scarred. Afterwards she was confined to Rutledge Asylum where she struggled to confront her demons by slipping slipping further into her fantasy world of Wonderland. Now, after ten years, she has finally secured her release - yet she still bears the heavy psychological burden of that tragic event.

Join Alice once again in her search for truth hidden within madness.
View larger.

With her mind in tatters, she is unable to resolve the fear prompted by her strange memories, dreams, and visions. Perhaps she'll do better in Wonderland. She always has. She travels there, seeking what the "real" world can't provide: security, knowledge, and the truth about the past. But in her absence, Wonderland too has suffered. Something has gone horribly wrong, and now a great evil is descending upon what once was her beautiful refuge. Can Alice save Wonderland -- and herself -- from the madness that consumes them both?

Gameplay

Alice: Madness Returns, like the original 2000 game release for PC that it is a sequel to, is a third-person, single player, action game that incorporates platforming and combat gameplay. Playing as Alice players retreat into Wonderland for comfort from the real world, only to find it in even more shambles than before. Yet this world that exists in Alice's head holds the secrets to her repressed memories and the truth behind the murder of her family. Players must fight their way across this world using a mixture of melee weapons, magic and puzzle-solving and platforming skills to defeat a variety of enemy types, each with particular strengths and weakness. By besting each, players collect in-game currency that can be used to upgrade weapons and skills. In addition to combat players also must explore every corner of this strange world to find clues, messages and potions that help to literally unlock memories that will finally expose the truth behind the madness.

Key Game Features

• Intense 3rd-person Action - Use multiple upgradeable melee weapons, including the explosive Teapot Cannon, the punishing Hobby Horse, and the classic Vorpal Blade.
• Explore a Dark and Shattered Wonderland - Encounter familiar, but now strange characters including the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the Caterpillar and the Red Queen.
• Magical Abilities - Obtain peculiar abilities in Wonderland such as floating with Alice's dress, shrinking and growing to towering sizes in order to crush enemies.
• Interactive Puzzles - Intuitive and rewarding puzzles such as transforming obstacles, musical memories chess and picture blocks.
• A Visually Unique Gameworld - Delight in the whims of the ever-changing visual aspects of the gameworld which visually affect everything in the game, including Alice and her attire.

Additional Screenshots

A very different Wonderland. View larger.

Wield upgradable weapons. View larger.

Platforming and puzzle play. View larger.

Unlockable abilities. View larger.

Product Description

Eleven years ago a horrific fire took Alice's family from her and left her mind horrifically scarred. Afterwards she was confined to Rutledge Asylum, where she struggled to confront her demons by slipping further into her fantasy world of Wonderland. Now, after ten years, she has finally secured her release-yet she still bears the heavy psychological burden of that tragic event. With her mind in tatters, she is unable to resolve the fear prompted by her strange memories, dreams, and visions. Perhaps she'll do better in Wonderland. She always has. She travels there, seeking what the “real” world can't provide: security, knowledge, and the truth about the past. But in her absence, Wonderland too has suffered. Something has gone horribly wrong, and now a great evil is descending upon what once was her beautiful refuge. Can Alice save Wonderland-and herself-from the madness that consumes them both?

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

113 of 127 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Alice: Epicness Returns! June 14, 2011

By Rick Mallory Jr.

Platform for Display:PLAYSTATION 3|Amazon Verified Purchase

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

Woohoo! Alright, now I'm going to start right off by saying I LOVE this game! Now, with that being said, let's take a quick look at what's so great (and not great) about it, shall we?

First off, the graphics. Now, I like how the developers took a more "animated" style for this (though some may not). The colors in the backgrounds and scenery can range from absolutely breath-taking, to horrifically morbid (in a good way). The character and level design is also very unique and while somewhat cartoonish, this only helps serve the purpose of resulting in a very creative and imaginative piece of art.

Now, despite it's beauty, the game is also filled to the brim with what we all want: violence! Yes, most notably, the fighting mechanics of this game have been compared to the likes of Heavenly Sword, Dante's Inferno, and God of War, and rightfully so. It pretty much is a "hack-n-slash," type game like those mentioned, however there are also plenty of power-ups and abilities that can be used to "spice things up" a bit.

Back-tracking a bit to character design and such, the arsenal of villains and supporting cast is quite unique to say the least. Gone are the nostalgic images of cute n' cuddly Alice in Wonderland characters, and here, we are introduced instead to a more twisted yet fresh and entertaining cast. Personally, I LOVE the way the Cheshire cat is depicted in this video game, though I won't give away any "spoilers" as to appearance, so either you'll have to pick the game up, or just take my word for it ;).

The soundtrack and overall sound of the game itself really is rather enchanting, and definitely serves to help the mood of certain areas and scenes depicted on-screen. Once more, I have yet another compliment to offer, in that I truly think the voice acting in this game is phenomenal and the developers really outdid themselves in selecting the voice-talent; perfection!

So what about the gameplay itself? Is it any good? Is it fun? Would it be worth a second try (replay)? The answer to all of the above is...YES! The game itself is filled to the brim with action, interactive environments, and everyone's "favorite"...puzzles (lol). Nah, but seriously, the puzzles in this game aren't that bad at all, and even if you do end up getting stuck (which I doubt you will), we are fortunate to live in an age where we have all the answers to our questions at our fingertips (the internet). Needless to say, this game is an absolute BLAST, and replayability is definitely there. This is especially the case if you are a trophy collector, as some of the trophies involve beating the game on various difficulty settings.

I am a huge fan of all things "Alice in Wonderland." I have read the book(s), I have seen the movie(s), and now, I can say I have played the game(s). Oh yes, that's right, also if you purchase the game, you get a code that allows you to download the original "American McGee's Alice" game that was released back in 2000. What?! A free downloadable game?! Sweet! Now, keep in mind, the graphics will naturally be outdated since it came out in 2000, but any real gamer knows that graphics aren't what make a game...but whether or not a game is fun certainly does!

My only main gripe/concern about the game is that sometimes the controls/camera can be a bit tough to deal with, and can require some tinkering/tampering with to get it "just right." However the developers did a good job in offering the player to customize the control scheme to either regular or inverted, so depending on your preference, you can choose accordingly.

So, with that being said, here is what my first impressions of this game are:

Graphics: 5/5
Controls: 4/5
Sound: 5/5
Story: 4/5
Gameplay: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

At the very least, rent this game, however if you are an Alice in Wonderland fan, and don't mind reaching into your "darker" and "twisted" side, then you'd be doing yourself a disservice in not picking-up this game. So what are you waiting for?! Join me and visit Wonderland! :)

Update 6/15: Wow! I strongly encourage people to at least give this game a try. I've had another few hours at it, and I gotta' say, this game is so gorgeous and full of intrigue. I expected to have beaten it by now, however from what I've found, I still have a way to go. Length is always a PLUS to any game, and definitely gives me a sense that I spent my money well in picking this up. The puzzles are very unique, and some may require persistence or critical thinking skills, so if you don't enjoy things of that nature, then this game might not be for you, however I personally LOVE the challenge; as a lot of games these days seem to be too easy in my opinion. As I mentioned earlier, the character design is top-notch, and I keep running into more-and-more of our beloved favorite characters from the book/movie and I must say, the developers did an outstanding job in adding their own personal..."flare" to the characters.

I can understand where some of the negative reviews come from, since this type/style of game doesn't appeal to exactly everyone, but I can say that I'm surprised that there aren't more positive reviews out there. So with that in mind, at least give it a try, but to me, this is definitely worth a buy! Got any questions? Leave them in the comments! Hope this helps! :)

46 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Alice: Madness Returns ... a feast for the eyes June 15, 2011

By Maek VINE™ VOICE

Platform for Display:PLAYSTATION 3|Amazon Verified Purchase

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

Alice: Madness Returns isn't your regular cup of tea.

Despite its 11 year absence, the sequel lives up to its original title quite well. Alice is back, and her mind is still fragmented and all is not well with her. Her grasp on sanity is tenuous at best and her psychologist sessions are not going well; the Victorian take on medicine is resplendently well-played out in the form of a Doctor whose therapy focuses purely on just "forgetting all the bad things."

It doesn't take long for Alice to start hallucinating again and thrown back into "Wonderland", coming across the Cheshire Cat who practically growls in his svelte voice that not all she sees is how she remembers things.

Alice isn't looking for a fight. But, as the Cheshire Cat lazily laments, "Really? That's a pity. One's certainly looking for you." Alice is unwittingly thrown back against nightmarish enemies with her trusty Vorpal Blade ("keen and swift," the Cheshire Cat purrs), a Pepper Grinder, and a couple of other surprises for you to discover. Her enemies are beautifully rendered and the soundtrack lends an urgent, ominous tone to the entire affair. In addition, Alice's stumbling into the "Drink Me" fountain allows her to shrink at will, allowing her to see things that the "big Alice" can't see and allow her to crawl through keyholes, some cleverly disguised behind rocks. And, throughout, shrinking will allow her to see the occasional crude drawing scrawled in a light neon purple warning her of challenges and suggestions of paths to follow. There are other upgrades, to be sure, including weapons (similar to the God of War scheme except that you're using teeth, not red orbs).

The gameplay is fun throughout and although hack-and-slash might help you with the first couple of nemeses that you encounter, you will eventually find others that will force you to adopt different tactics. Unlike Dante's Inferno, this game will require a little bit more strategy on your part and the secrets are very well-hidden. If there is anything that I feel detracts from the gameplay, it's the occasional area where you feel that you can explore a certain direction (say under a shallow tree root?), but you can't go that direction and no amount of shrinking will allow you to do so either. That's too bad, because the "force field" walls are quite archaic in this era of game design and some graphical work could have been employed to suggest that a certain area is simply not traversable.

That con aside, the game is a visual feast. I occasionally would stop just so that I could rotate the camera slowly and drink in the sights. The artwork is quite imaginative and is a stark contrast to the parts where Alice wanders around a somewhat lifeless London. Now, I have read reviews that there are some occasional bland textures. Call it what you will, but I attribute it to the fragmented mind of Alice herself; there is too much in this game that looks so good as to fault the programmers for areas (especially London) where it's seemingly lifeless and devoid of rich textures. I simply don't buy it. I won't spoil the artwork for you any further, but the level design and incorporation of everyday items as means for travel or building materials does make me utter the occasional "wow."

Now, as for story, don't expect any mind-blowing Hollywood movie here. The point of the journey is the nightmare and the art. With that in mind, the game succeeds quite admirably.

5 stars, McGee, for blowing my mind away again!

If that's not enough, the current release also includes a voucher to download the original Alice (just over 940 MB) for the PS3. If you didn't catch the game the first time around, now's your chance to get it again without resorting to the insane prices people are charging for used PC copies.

Alice is not for the faint of heart to be sure. The Mature rating is quite well-deserved, although I believe that the cover would do well-enough to dissuade any parent who would ever think that this is a whimsical take on the Alice story worthy of an 8-year old.

PS - just as an historical footnote, there are many who keep on stating how much this game is like God of War, Dante's Inferno, etc. The original Alice predates God of War by about 5 years. It's easier to compare this game to those, however, because they are considerably fresher in everyone's mind.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is wickedly fun... June 25, 2011

By Matt D. Eckert

Platform for Display:PLAYSTATION 3

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

I was reading through Game Informer and I'm not understanding why this game got a mediocre review. This is one of the coolest games I've bought in a long time. The graphics are great. The story is fun. The knife you get is useful for attacks but the pepper grinder is an excellent weapon. If you are thinking of buying this game I would say go for it and ignore the reviews. In fact I'm going to ignore the reviews period from now on. I would have missed out on a great game if I would have listened to them..