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Alice: Madness Returns Preview for Xbox 360

Alice: Madness Returns Preview for Xbox 360

Every Adventure Requires a First Step

Very few sequels are over a decade in the making, but Alice: Madness Returns, the long-awaited sequel to the 2000 classic American McGee’s Alice, is just that sort of title. As its much-anticipated June release date draws ever closer, now is the perfect time to get caught up on everything you need to know about this maddening return down the rabbit hole. A lot has happened since the first game blew our minds, so it’s perfectly understandable if you don’t quite remember every detail from this twisted and beautiful world of Cheshire Cats and Mad Hatters.

The first game reintroduced us to Alice. After losing her family in a fire, she slowly lost touch with reality and was eventually institutionalized in the Rutledge Asylum. After ten years of falling deeper and deeper into madness, Alice was thrown back into a strange new Wonderland that’s been warped by her growing insanity.

Alice: Madness Returns Screenshot

Alice: Madness Returns takes place eleven years after the events in the first game, and Alice has since been released from the asylum. She now resides in Victorian London, but her parents’ tragic deaths still haunt her mind. Repressed memories begin to reveal themselves, and Alice realizes her family’s deaths might not have been an accident at all. The weight of these new memories begins to tear apart what little sanity she’s managed to build over the last decade of rehabilitation, and, as a result, she starts having hallucinations. When they reach a boiling point, Alice decides it’s time to return to Wonderland, which has once again been twisted by her broken mind.

Alice’s goal is the same as last time: save the residents of Wonderland from the growing evil that threatens to consume them, all the while working to rebuild her fragile mind. Much like its predecessor, Madness Returns will have a unique combination of action/horror elements, puzzle solving, and platforming. The game is in the third person, with the camera behind and slightly above Alice, giving players a substantial view of the surroundings and any nearby enemies.

Madness Returns is filled with a myriad of creatures that want nothing more than to ruin your day. There are the Card Guards, who aren’t much more than fodder during a fight. When confronted by a group of these reckless guards, Alice is more than capable of shredding them to pieces without a problem. Unfortunately, you’ll rarely go against such easy prey, as the Queen has far more intimidating soldiers, like the Armored Card Guards, at her disposal. These guys are similar to their unarmored brethren, but they can actually hold their own in a fight. They’re also armed with powerful staves that are difficult to dodge.

Alice: Madness Returns Screenshot

If those foes don’t make you break a sweat, don’t worry; the Queen has a few more cards up her sleeve. (Pardon the pun). One of her deadliest henchmen is called The Executioner, and he’s an opponent you shouldn’t underestimate. This guy is big, dumb, and easily angered, bringing with him a rather sharp scythe that’s perfect for bisecting overconfident girls. The Executioner is only one of several bosses you’ll be forced to fight, and designer American McGee (yes, that’s his real name) has stated that each boss will be a puzzle. So don’t expect to be able to button-mash your way through a fight; these will require skill, timing, and an assortment of other abilities.

There will be a decent amount of puzzle-solving and platforming in this dark Wonderland. Make sure your mind and hands are limbered up for the things that are thrown your way, including platforms that can only be seen when Alice shrinks herself. Teeth are scattered about the levels and dropped by fallen foes, and these act as the game’s currency, allowing you to purchase new upgrades for Alice’s weapons.

Alice: Madness Returns Screenshot

The stunning art style from the first game returns, and it’s looking even more gorgeous and detailed than it ever has. Everything is heavily stylized with vibrant colors and exaggerated features that make it look reminiscent of 2009’s Brutal Legend. This unique style extends from the environments you’ll spend time exploring to the incredibly original selection of weapons and even to the enemies themselves. Since Wonderland has changed alongside Alice, it’s not going to be a familiar place, even if you’ve played the original. Despite its name, Wonderland is filled to the brim with danger.

Alice isn’t going into the fight unarmed. This time she’s getting an even more over-the-top selection of armaments that can be upgraded as you progress through the story. Alice’s weapon selection includes the Vorpal Blade, Hobby Horse, Pepper Grinder, and Teapot Cannon. The Vorpal Blade, a single-handed blade that she can use to quickly slash at oncoming foes, acts as Alice’s basic weapon. The Hobby Horse is essentially a war hammer, moving more slowly but dealing greater damage. For long-ranged tactics there’s the Pepper Grinder, basically a machine gun, and the Teapot Cannon, which acts as Alice’s grenade launcher.

Sure, it’s been a very long time, and for the less patient among us the wait has been borderline painful. But now, Alice: Madness Returns is but a handful of weeks away, and from what we’ve seen of the game so far it looks to be shaping up quite nicely. The first Alice game has since become a classic (and will come free with new copies of Madness Returns), setting the bar pretty high for this sequel. But Spicy Horse has proven to be adept at creating beautifully bizarre worlds, stellar creature design, and engaging stories. I only hope this one is as depraved as the original was, because I’m ready to let loose and jump right back down the rabbit hole to join Alice on yet another unforgettable adventure.

Game Features:

  • Intense third-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, or 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.


  • We’re All Mad Here. I’m Mad. You’re Mad.

    Close to ten years ago, game designer American McGee released his vision of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, entitled American McGee’s Alice. Considerably more horrifying than the acclaimed novel, McGee’s version took a grim look into Alice’s psyche years after the original storyline and portrayed an elaborate visual style for its time. Now, McGee is going back into the world of Wonderland, releasing a direct sequel to his first grisly game that is currently under development by his Shanghai-based independent studio, Spicy Horse.

    Alice: Madness Returns screenshot

    The sequel takes place eleven years after the original (also coinciding with the game’s tentative release window) with a traumatized Alice still struggling to recover from the loss of her family. After spending over a decade in Rutledge Asylum, she is finally released into the care of a psychiatrist in London. As her nightmares and hallucinations continue to worsen, she realizes her torments were never fully resolved and seeks to find refuge in Wonderland, the only place she truly knows to be safe. However, upon her arrival, she discovers that during her time away, things haven’t gone well in her absence. On a mission of self-discovery, and in order to unravel the truth about her past, it’s up to Alice to save herself and the world she loves from a darkness that threatens to consume them both.

    The few teasers we’ve seen for Alice: Madness Returns have certainly been doing their job. Showing off a unique visual style American McGee and his games are known for, we’ve seen glimpses of a vibrantly detailed Wonderland. The game world itself appears to be a primary focus, and it’s obvious when viewing the background textures in their recent screenshots from the Tokyo Game Show. These screens give a hint at just how beautiful a scene can look one minute, with gleaming open skies and bright fall-colored trees, and then turn to a dark and dismal setting the next, showcasing mechanical shades of greens and browns. It might even be appropriate to compare a few aspects of the world to Rapture from BioShock, but with much more color and a lot less water.

    Alice: Madness Returns screenshot

    There is also a new trailer they’ve been showing off at TGS to give an even deeper look into all the fantasy madness. It features the newly freed Alice wandering the lonely, night-filled streets of London. She happens upon what appears to be a dimly lit carnival carriage with a small display of the Mad Hatter, the Dormouse, and the White Rabbit having a tea party. She is then surprised to hear a faint voice calling her name, which she recognizes as her mother, but turns around only to see an empty street. Just a moment later, a fiery apparition presents itself in the display and reveals itself as the Queen of Hearts, along with the White Rabbit, before wrapping Alice in her tentacles and disappearing into the inferno.

    It is apparent in the first game the Queen of Hearts represents the whole of Alice’s insanity, while the White Rabbit represents her doctor from Rutledge Asylum. If I were to take a guess, I would have to assume her freedom in London could only last for so long. There really isn’t much more to discern from the trailer other than the fact that Alice will once again be faced with a deep internal struggle.

    Alice: Madness Returns screenshot

    Aside from what we’ve learned with the various assets provided by the publisher, Electronic Arts, we do know for certain the game will have a similar platform-like style of gameplay to the original. It’s even distinguishable in a piece of concept art where Alice is traversing an area littered with gears and clocks. She appears to be maintaining her balance on a steel beam with a long pole, trying to make her way from platform to platform. If there is any sort of balancing mechanic in the game, it remains to be seen, but there will most definitely be moments where she will proceed through environmental obstacles.

    Another revelation from TGS was the connection to a collectables element in the game. It was noted during a short pre-alpha presentation that Alice was seen to be picking up her “memories” scattered throughout the game world, much like the audio logs from BioShock, which would fill players in on important elements of back story. I imagine that since the sequel will be released on consoles, this will be tied to some sort of Achievement/Trophy component.

    Alice: Madness Returns is still in the early stages of development, so there will be plenty more to reveal before its tentative release sometime in late 2011. But judging from the little bit we’ve seen, it’s shaping up to be another bright blip on our radar.

    Game Features:

  • Explore the dark twisted world of Amercian McGee’s Wonderland.
  • Discover exactly what happened to Alice after the end of the original cult classic.
  • For the first time ever, Alice makes her dark adventure available on home consoles.

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