Tokyo Game Show: Alice: Madness Returns Comes Back for More Mayhem

[Fintan Monaghan]

Tokyo Game Show: Alice: Madness Returns Comes Back for More Mayhem

The long-awaited sequel to American McGee's Alice just gets curiouser and curiouser.

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Creative director American McGee's forthcoming Alice sequel treads the same dark and disturbing territory as it's predecessor. The newest teaser trailer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/103481-EA-Releases-Disappointing-Second-Madness-Returns-Trailer] from Spicy Horse features a bleak, Victorian London (is there any other?) and the ferociously mad mind of young Alice. The game is set for release next year, but a few details were revealed.

The second installment picks up where the first ended. Alice has been released from the asylum she was locked away in. Yet all is not well, and it isn't long before she is dragged down the rabbit hole yet again.

This time around, Alice is equipped with four, well, curiouser and curiouser objects. The Vorpal knife makes a return, along with three new weapons: a pepper grinder; a hobby horse; and a teapot cannon.

McGee emphasizes the "puzzles" that players must solve to defeat Wonderland baddies. But "puzzles" here simply mean that enemies have weak points that players must exploit in order to win. Also of interest are fragments of "memories" that Alice must gather to piece together her broken mind.

Spicy Horse has brewed a dark and twisted game, and as evidenced by Tim Burton's hit movie Alice, the thirst for this old children's tale is strong. No wonder after ten long years, we are finally getting a sequel to the popular PC game. This time, it will be released for both Xbox 360 and PS3 along with versions for the PC and Mac.

TGS 2010 reporting is done jointly by Fintan Monaghan and Lisa Gay.

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[bak00777]

ive been looking for a copy of the first one, its not on steam which makes me sad, i can only find it on Ebay. hopefully when the 2nd comes out they will also bring back the first one, maybe it will be bundled at some point.

 

[Fallen-Angel Risen-Demon]

ive been looking for a copy of the first one, its not on steam which makes me sad, i can only find it on Ebay. hopefully when the 2nd comes out they will also bring back the first one, maybe it will be bundled at some point.

Same, I heard about it now I'm curious. For now I'm stuck to watching let's plays. Looks good though.

 

[Queen Michael]

Why is it that Alice in Wonderland gets so many different adaptations?
I think it's because it doesn't have a clear plot (not that there's anything wrong with that) and thus can be changed easily.

 

[Azaraxzealot]

Spicy Horse has brewed a dark and twisted game

is there any other way to make every single "Hot Topic" customer/clerk/manager buy 3 copies of this game again?

yeah, this game has NO appeal to me, because it just seems like a game people on Deviantart (and i mean the "OMG! *GLOMPS*" people...) would play, as for me... i'll be vacuuming up zombies in my vacuum+sawblades weapon for the next few years DDD

 

[niblik]

Ahhhhh Alice.

I still have my copy of the original and its soundtrack. I've had no problem loading it up on my Vista machine and chopping up some foes.

Personally, I loved the original and savored the level design and atmosphere. I'm cautiously hopefully for this next one and its encouraging that almost all the original crew is onboard.

 

[Zhukov]

It will be interesting to see where they take this.

Also, I like that it is cross-platform.

 

[chinangel]

i beat that game and loved it. I also downloaded a couple little gimicks for it. I beat it while i was living in Bristol, i'm in canada now and can't help this overwhelming feeling that I should go back to bristol to purchase the sequel :S

at any rate, i hope cheshy makes a comeback ^^ mad little bastard was my favourite part of the game! oh and hte title character of course

 

[Coliumbos]

Oh god the Pepper Grinder. That just conjures memories of the first boss in the first game.

God not this shit again. I don't want my mind f*cked again. >.>

 

[SmugFrog]

So American McGee makes a few average/crappy games, then decides to go back to the game that was his last hit and make a sequel? Isn't that what gamers hate? "Hey, this game made money! Let's make another one just because of that!"

I lost any interest in him or his games after his ranting - but it seems to have been forgotten about and I have a hard time finding any trace of his hateful outburst that happened years ago.

Truth is: American Mcgee doesn't give a damn about any of his "fans", or if anyone even really likes his games. He's just out for the $$$.

 

[Eleima]

I'm usually a fan of Burton, but I didn't like his Alice so much, and one of the main reasons why, as my sister and I kept telling each other, is that it wasn't more like American McGee's Alice.
I loved American McGee's Alice, and I'm eagerly awaiting this one. I think it has potential, and with any luck, it'll follow "Through the Looking Glass"'s plot (albeit loosely, as the first installment did).

 

[Lissa-QUON]

Ah American McGee's Alice, one of the first computer games I loved and obsessed over. That one is truly a classic.

I'm not sure how I feel about the sequel, but at least the production art I've seen so far indicates this isn't just a rehash of the first game. So at least theres that.

I'm hoping for more Cheshire Cat again, he seriously made the game. Just as long as the Cheshire Cat is in the game and has that voice I'll probably be all over this regardless if it sucks.

 

[Nimzar]

ive been looking for a copy of the first one, its not on steam which makes me sad, i can only find it on Ebay. hopefully when the 2nd comes out they will also bring back the first one, maybe it will be bundled at some point.

The possibility of the first game seeing a re-release is where my interest in the sequel lies. :/ Kinda pathetic.