Hey, I couldn’t let OriginOfBob have all the fun…
American McGee’s Alice- MAC/PC, 2000/2001. EA Games
Story- 10/10
Gameplay- 9.0/10
Design- 9.0/10
Control- 9.0/10
Music- 10/10
Fun Factor- 10/10
Overall- 10/10
If Disney’s rendition of “Alice in Wonderland” is the equivalent of a happy-go-lucky acid trip, then welcome to “American McGee’s Alice”, the acid trip from hell.
Story- 10/10
For starters, this is a game by American McGee. That said, if you buy this game (or torrent, cause you wont find it unless you do some serious searching) thinking, “Oh, well maybe this is another happy-go-lucky Disney Alice in Wonderland fairytale”, then you’re in for a rude awakening. By the way, if the box art isn’t a big enough clue, that “M” rating in the lower corner is there for a reason. “American McGee’s Alice” is one hell of a warped game- not “Conker’s Bad Fur Day” laughable warped, but more of a “Soilent Green is people” disturbing warped.
“Alice” has one of the most original spin-off plots for a game to date. The game takes place a few years after the events of “Through the Looking Glass…” (It’s fine if you didn’t read it, but you may not understand the significance of time, chess pieces and the Jabberwock.) Depicted through pages of a book and frantic sounds of panic during the opening cinematic, a young Alice wakes up to find the house on fire and her parents helplessly trapped inside telling her to flee and save herself. One of those “quick-zoom time lapses” occurs, where we find that Alice has now been institutionalized in an asylum. We return to Wonderland once again not as an escape, but to free the inhabitants of the Red Queen’s influence and to reclaim what’s left of Alice’s sanity.
Gameplay- 9.0/10
“American McGee’s Alice” plays like any other platformer; plenty of wild multi-tiered levels, enemies everywhere, strange power-ups here and there, and ridiculous bosses. Unfortunately there are water levels, and they still suck (it wouldn’t be a platform game if they didn’t), but they’re sparse. In addition to the game’s auto-save feature between levels, “Alice” also has save-states, which let you load your progress from the EXACT point you left off. Be warned though, don’t save-state right before you die- the game won’t correct you. Not that it needs them, but “Alice” lacks extras. Once you finish the game, that’s it. You’re done. There is a “console” option for cheats under the options menu, but you don’t need it unless you play the Nightmare difficulty.
Design- 9.0/10
I’d like to start this one off by pointing out a few things about the original box art. The traditional of duo of Alice and the Cheshire Cat have been modded a bit; Alice, now older (and brunette, unlike the Disney version) is adorned in a bloodstained Victorian-era dress, with a kitchen knife to match. The Cheshire Cat seems to have seen better days, as now he’s grotesquely “ornate”.
I know this is a “Captain Obvious” moment to most, but for those who are slow to the take, Wonderland is an astral projection of Alice’s psyche. It’s the material incarnation of her thoughts and emotions, and her safe-haven from the rest of the world. (Yeah, check out my jargon of deepness.) Everything about the game screams weirdness. The Wonderland that we came to know and love has been replaced with a demented, architecturally warped version reminiscent of something Tim Burton would think up. Hey, Tim Burton doing an Alice….. that sounds like a good idea. Hope Disney doesn’t get a hold of that. Oh, wait a minute….
Control- 9.0/10
The controls are spot-on but the jumping takes some time to get used to; there’s a slight delay between input and action. Like most everything, the keyboard is for weapons macro and movement, while the mouse is used for the camera and attack. If you’re like me where you could care less about mice, the controls are 100% customizable, so feel free to map the keyboard.
Music- 10/10
If I mentioned “Chris Vrenna”, would anyone know who I was talking about? Probably not, so maybe I’ll add this little tidbit; Chris Vrenna was one of the live members of Nine Inch Nails and now the keyboardist for Marilyn Manson. He’s worked on the soundtracks for other video games such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Quake 4, Area 51, Enter the Matrix, NFS: Most Wanted, and he co-produced the soundtrack for Doom 3. If anyone remembers “Xiaolin Showdown” from the glory days of Saturday-morning cartoons, Chris Vrenna also co-composed the opening theme. In other words, the soundtrack for “Alice” kicks some seriously creepy ass. It does such an outstanding job of bringing the twisted world of Wonderland to life. The music is a clash of dark orchestral sounds and antique musical toys. For you music theologists, think ” F#minor 9th underneath an antique music box”.
Fun Factor- 10/10
I haven’t been too big on platformers lately, but something about this one caught my eye; whether it was the bizarre story, the fact that I finally found a decent Mac game (don’t start your Mac vs PC jokes, cause I can counter every single one of them), or EA’s recent announcement of “The Return of American McGee’s Alice” for the next-gens, I don’t know what sparked my drive to play this game. One thing is for sure, “American McGee’s Alice” is like a can of Pringles. Please don’t make me explain why.
Overall- 10/10
Buy it, steal it, torrent it….. whatever, just get it. End of story. (Eden Wirefly and those affiliated with TAGJ do not promote stealing or illegal downloading of any kind.) If you love Alice in Wonderland, get it. If you love platformers, get it. IF YOU PLAY VIDEO GAMES, GET IT.
