American McGee is from what I've seen a pretty cool and down-to-earth kind of guy. With the exception of maybe Sandy Peterson or possibly Tom Hall, he's probably the one of the Doom 1 and 2 team that takes themselves the least seriously. After being fired from id shortly after Quake II finished development, and was quickly scooped up by Electronic Arts. This game was the first game he had full control over. It is also his best work.
Set in 1870s Britain, Alice, a survivor of a fire that killed her parents (and sister, as the sequel relates) is left catatonic. When exposed to her rabbit doll from her childhood, her mind drags her back into Wonderland, which has become a distorted and demented place. To save Wonderland and reclaim her sanity, she must find the Queen of Hearts.
There must have been something in the air with game developers in the late 90s and early 2000s, as many games from this era delve into the psychology of the characters. Few do it as well as Alice. The story is an intriguing mix of horror, characters study, and fantasy that shouldn't work, but does. There are some excellent lines in this game, and if you've ever experienced depression or some from of mental illness, you might find comfort in what this game has to say. It is a story that'll stick with you for years to come.
This is in no small part to Susie Brann as Alice and Roger Jackson as the Cheshire Cat. Though the entire voice cast does an excellent job.
In fact, the whole sound design of this game is great. Besides the voice acting, the sound effects are punchy which is important for this kind of third person shooter. Special attention should also be given to Chris Vrenna's soundtrack. Many people know about Trent Reznor composing the music for Quake 1, but not as many people know Chris Vrenna's work on Alice. And they should. His work really heightens the mood of some these levels. This game is downright sinister in places thanks to his music.
In terms of graphics, this game uses the Quake III engine to great effect. In a time when video games were beginning to veer towards brown and realism that would come to dominate the industry, American McGee's Alice shows just what the Quake III engine could do, with its greens and blues and reds. But the major heavy lifting of the game's graphics come from the art style, which Tim Burton absolutely ripped off for his Disney movies. Though it could be argued that American McGee was imitating Burton's style. Either way, you're gonna get Hot Topic merch.
So good story, good music, good characters, and good graphics. How's the gameplay? While admittedly the weakest aspect of the game, it's still excellent. Alice controls great on the ground, and all of the weapons are fun to use and you can really bring the pain. My personal favorite weapon is the ice staff. It's a good thing the weapons are so good, because you'll need all the help you can get. This is a hard game. Fortunately, you can quicksave, and this game seems to be built around it. Alice has some of that old Doom and Quake DNA and it's better for it. Unfortunately, this game relies on a lot of platforming which just isn't that fun to control. Banjo Kazooie this ain't. However, it never bothered me to the point that it made me want to stop.
Sadly, this game can be awful to get running on modern hardware. Not that modern computers can't run it. Merely that EA has decided not to sell it. Thankfully, you can access it still if you buy a copy of Alice: Madness Returns on Steam or the EA app. I'll have a link at the bottom of this review with instructions on how to set it up.
You might have to jump through a few hurdles to get it working, but it's worth your time. American McGee's Alice is a work from a real auteur, which is quite rare in this medium. The fact that it was published by EA makes it all the more unique. I say give it a shot.
How to get American McGee's Alice working on modern systems:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2881785983
Set in 1870s Britain, Alice, a survivor of a fire that killed her parents (and sister, as the sequel relates) is left catatonic. When exposed to her rabbit doll from her childhood, her mind drags her back into Wonderland, which has become a distorted and demented place. To save Wonderland and reclaim her sanity, she must find the Queen of Hearts.
There must have been something in the air with game developers in the late 90s and early 2000s, as many games from this era delve into the psychology of the characters. Few do it as well as Alice. The story is an intriguing mix of horror, characters study, and fantasy that shouldn't work, but does. There are some excellent lines in this game, and if you've ever experienced depression or some from of mental illness, you might find comfort in what this game has to say. It is a story that'll stick with you for years to come.
This is in no small part to Susie Brann as Alice and Roger Jackson as the Cheshire Cat. Though the entire voice cast does an excellent job.
In fact, the whole sound design of this game is great. Besides the voice acting, the sound effects are punchy which is important for this kind of third person shooter. Special attention should also be given to Chris Vrenna's soundtrack. Many people know about Trent Reznor composing the music for Quake 1, but not as many people know Chris Vrenna's work on Alice. And they should. His work really heightens the mood of some these levels. This game is downright sinister in places thanks to his music.
In terms of graphics, this game uses the Quake III engine to great effect. In a time when video games were beginning to veer towards brown and realism that would come to dominate the industry, American McGee's Alice shows just what the Quake III engine could do, with its greens and blues and reds. But the major heavy lifting of the game's graphics come from the art style, which Tim Burton absolutely ripped off for his Disney movies. Though it could be argued that American McGee was imitating Burton's style. Either way, you're gonna get Hot Topic merch.
So good story, good music, good characters, and good graphics. How's the gameplay? While admittedly the weakest aspect of the game, it's still excellent. Alice controls great on the ground, and all of the weapons are fun to use and you can really bring the pain. My personal favorite weapon is the ice staff. It's a good thing the weapons are so good, because you'll need all the help you can get. This is a hard game. Fortunately, you can quicksave, and this game seems to be built around it. Alice has some of that old Doom and Quake DNA and it's better for it. Unfortunately, this game relies on a lot of platforming which just isn't that fun to control. Banjo Kazooie this ain't. However, it never bothered me to the point that it made me want to stop.
Sadly, this game can be awful to get running on modern hardware. Not that modern computers can't run it. Merely that EA has decided not to sell it. Thankfully, you can access it still if you buy a copy of Alice: Madness Returns on Steam or the EA app. I'll have a link at the bottom of this review with instructions on how to set it up.
You might have to jump through a few hurdles to get it working, but it's worth your time. American McGee's Alice is a work from a real auteur, which is quite rare in this medium. The fact that it was published by EA makes it all the more unique. I say give it a shot.
How to get American McGee's Alice working on modern systems:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2881785983