Alice: Madness Returns

Alice: Madness Returns certainly has its flaws - the least of which is pacing - but the experience of exploring the slowly-deteriorating mind of Alice Liddell in the imaginative and dark world of Wonderland is worth putting up with them for.

The overall quality of Alice: Madness Returns is high, despite it feeling rushed. The qualities that made American McGee's Alice so enjoyable-the gory hack-'n'-slash combat, the gorgeous design, the rich dialogue, the menacing mood-are present and abundant.

As it turns out, following the rabbit down the rabbit hole is a whole lot of fun.

Alice: Madness Returns may not win awards for genre innovation, but it's the most darkly fun and gloriously batty game I've played since Psychonauts. I can't think of any higher praise.

Once you get sucked into the beautiful world of Wonderland you'll be drawn in and amazed with how unique McGee's imagination is about a story we all knew growing up. This is not your friendly Disney version of Alice in Wonderland or anything even close. This is Amercian McGee's twisted and amazingly complex Alice that tells a tale of a girl who's on the brink of losing her mind and what she must to do save it and Wonderland.

It's far from perfect, but even further from broken. Alice looks good, plays good, and has a very decent length that should appease any diehard fan.

The original is a more inspired game, but kudos to Spicy Horse for making this second foray through the looking glass more than tolerable.

All in all it's a decent game with only a few nagging issues to prevent it from being great. Comparatively, I think that the original did it better, but Spicy Horse has done a respectable job with the sequel.

Usually it would be said that a game such as this is spoiled by some poor game mechanics, however, Alice: Madness Returns' gameplay is completely forgiven as the story-telling, and creative direction take you on a magical, yet dark and disturbing journey that you never want to leave. It is the type of game that reminds of why you fell in love with gaming in the first place a proper break from reality.

All and all, Alice Madness Returns is an exquisite alternative point of view of a classical story, given as a twisted gaming extravaganza. The constant platforming can be tiring, but the rich content repays the gamer.

A wonderfully realised fantasy world that is equal parts entrancing and disturbing. The story is well realised and will keep you enamoured until the credits roll. There are a few niggles here but nothing to stop Alice: Madness Returns from being a wonderfully different slice of entertainment. Now who's for tea?

Alice: Madness Returns is a wolf in sheep's clothing. This game may look honest and cute, but it's cruel and bloody. Alice takes you to an another unforgettable experience in Wonderland. And if you didn't remember the first experience, then you get the opportunity to play the first game for free. Buy it, please.

Alice: Madness Returns should please fans of the original and newcomers alike. The game can feel a bit dated and tedious at times, but the incredibly dark Wonderland that American McGee has crafted is just begging to be explored.

Alice Madness Returns should please fans of the original while captivating some new gamers with its macabre storytelling.

An engaging slice of dark fantasy, one that reaffirms American McGee's command of both the unhinged and the fantastical.

Truly the definition of a sleeper hit. I enjoyed the twisted atmosphere and the solid mechanics. Sure, the tricks the game uses get repeated far too often, but it is easy to overlook when you weigh the value of the entire package.

Impressive. This darker spin on a classic tale is full of great atmosphere and some well-designed platforming.

The levels are creative and artistic direction is solid, but the actual gameplay suffers from a lack of diversity and being clumped into big chunks.

If as much imagination had been applied to the gameplay that was put into the art design, Madness Returns would have been a phenomenal game.

Alice - Madness Returns is the kind of game that's retro in both a good sense and a bad: It's a tough game to beat, but lacks innovations and better graphics.

And that, in a nutshell, can be used to sum up Alice: The Madness Returns. There are moments of brilliance; of clever design, fiendish platforming, loads of secrets, and intense combat. At others, though, Alice's adventure can be an unpolished, frustrating exercise in repetition. To say Alice is trippy would be more than a slight understatement. I have to say I enjoyed my journey into madness as I plunged further and further down the proverbial rabbit hole more than I thought I would initially. Still, I can't help but feel like it could, and probably should, have been better.

For the most part though, Alice: Madness Returns bazaar setting and imaginative design does a great job of immersing you, and whilst the repetition can grate slightly, its still a unique experience that is well worth your time.

Alice's second trip into madness isn't quite as satisfying or fresh as her first. Everything feels dated and there's an unfinished, even hurried quality to the game that's more than a little disappointing. That doesn't mean there's a shortage of great moments or fantastic ideas, because Madness Returns has both in spades.

Not quite the return we were hoping for, but still a fun run, jump and dash-through for fans. [Aug 2011, p.88]

It has been great to enjoy a classic 3D platforming game. These sort of games have almost disappeared in this generation, except for mediocre movie adaptations. American McGee and his team have made a great game, fresh and charming.

Alice: Madness Returns is not a masterpiece at all but, thanks to fine gameplay mechanics and a peculiar art design, it can be really engaging and funny.

As lovely as Alice: Madness Returns is (and if you've not seen any screenshots, Madness Returns is a very good looking game), it can also be horridly repetitive, and there's a same-ness about subsequent levels, in that they, and the baddies that people them, don't feel as if they get any more challenging as you go along.