I haven't played the first game (American McGee's Alice) so I can't compare the two or comment on how it holds up as a sequel. But as its own thing, Alice: Madness Returns is, sadly, quite mediocre.
It's your typical, drab, third-person platformer with "puzzles" and combat. The only unconventional thing about it is its whole twist on the Alice in Wonderland story. It does a great job at isolating key elements and characters from the source material and giving it a new nightmarish aesthetic.
The rest just feels so dry, the camera is clunky and I've experienced 2 crashes in only a couple hours. I know I would've eaten this as a kid, but as things stand right now, I don't see myself playing A:MR for 7 more hours.
It's your typical, drab, third-person platformer with "puzzles" and combat. The only unconventional thing about it is its whole twist on the Alice in Wonderland story. It does a great job at isolating key elements and characters from the source material and giving it a new nightmarish aesthetic.
The rest just feels so dry, the camera is clunky and I've experienced 2 crashes in only a couple hours. I know I would've eaten this as a kid, but as things stand right now, I don't see myself playing A:MR for 7 more hours.