American McGee's Alice

The Good
Well, even though the main idea is not really that original (taking Alice in wonderland and giving it a bizarre/dark twist) the game manages to stand out as a truly original experience. I guess that on it's own is a remarkable feat worth mentioning, yes it may be a platformer, but you ain't never seen a platformer like this. Of course, all the credit for the uniqueness of the game goes to the superb level design that combines weird curves and angles, radical lightning, psychodelic visual illusions and bizarre architecture to make a unique and beautiful gameworld. Such bizarre levels have been made before, most notably on Thief: The Dark Project (which seems to have had a major, let's say, "influence" in this game) but now you have a complete game filled with bizarre landscapes and places to visit.

Furthermore the Quake Arena engine, while not used to it's maximum extent, delivers some gorgeous graphics and effects (like mirrored corridors, etc.) which run surprisingly fast on rather wimpy computers like my own and allow you to see some of the best art in a 3D platformer in full glory.

The use of bizarre weapons and items also help the game stand out on it's own, with several original items like a set of deadly jacks or a deck of cards, each with two different firing modes. The enemies are also a breath of fresh air, from the super-cool massive bosses to the over-grown chess pieces that you encounter later on.

The game stands out on several other areas like sound with excellent voice acting that fits each character like a glove, good controls, etc. (this is after all an EA game, so you know you can expect a nicely produced package).

Lest I forget, a clever addition to the game is the inclusion of a jump targeting indicator to help you judge those nasty jump puzzles. It was about time somebody thought of something like that!

The Bad
Despite all the hoopla about the level design and the novel graphics, enemies, etc. the game is not a lot of fun to play. It is essentially a completely linear action platformer, and that gets old. Fast. Most good platformers add a host of secrets and bonuses to encourage you to explore the gameworld around you or extend the original adventure, not so in Alice. For as spectacular as the gameworld may appear to you, you are forced to move linearly from place to place following a single path towards the endgame.

But everything would be ok if that path was fun to play through, right? I mean, Out of this World wasn't exactly an exercise in non-linearity... Well, the problem is that Alice never seems to know what kind of game it is. You sometimes get inspired jump puzzle sequences, but a lot of moments in the game include Quake-like shootfests. And that's the game's biggest flaw, that it thrusts you into a massive amount of combat in a game that isn't really about that. I couldn't help but think that A. McGee just couldn't resist bringing some of the good ol' gameplay mechanics from his days on id and that stops the game dead. The inclusion of a Quad damage-like power up is a proof of that, as is the rather annoying tendency to place mazes filled with enemies towards the end of the game (be prepared to kiss that original level design goodbye every now and then pal!!).

Also I know originally you were supposed to be able to summon the Chessire Cat to fight by your side, but since that was removed I seriously question the point of keeping the "Chessire help" option. I mean, he's super-suave and all, but what's the point of wasting valuable cd space on generic one-liners that never help you??? It's like if Jedi Knight had a "Yoda" key which would allow you to listen to 4 or 5 generic words of wisdom...Next time add a text-only REAL tip system or nothing at all.

The Bottom Line
A rather poor gameplay experience masked under a beautiful if sometimes inconsistent level design. I guess this is one of those game you have to play just so you can experience something truly new and unique (at least when it comes to graphics) but the game is by no means a masterpiece, and I wouldn't recommend it except if you found it on a bargain bin.

The Good
Everyone agrees that this game's LOOK is amazing, and a real winner. It's a fantastic experience just to wander around in, to experience. If every game's world was this... amazing-looking, immersive... well... real life would seem remarkably dull.

The Bad
...but aside from that look, that style, that flash and thunder... everything else about this game is straight out of some other game. Throw-the-lever puzzles, find-the-pixel puzzles, figure-out-the-sequence puzzles, and the ever-popular jumping puzzles. LOTS of jumping puzzles.

Bleh.

And then, once you get past the puzzles, it's fragfest time, as you hack and blast your way through a horde of enemies, culminating in a face-off with a level boss.

...and then you start all over again on the next level, with the last level boss's weapon in your arsenal. Can you say "Mega Man?"

Aside from some very original scripted sequences, it's really more of the same.

The Bottom Line
In many ways, this game could be described as "3-D Goth Super Mario On Serious Drugs."

On the other hand, if you LIKE Mario-style 3-D platformers... well... it's great.

The Good
The artwork and twisted imagery of the game is wonderful. It really brings the world to life. The characters range from the amusing to the terrifying. The level design is great. The Quake 3 engine is perfect and the graphics are extremely good. The soundtrack as well is haunting and operatic, making it absolutely perfect for this game.

The Bad
It could have been so much more though. Despite the gloss and style, it's just a platform game. Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with that you understand. But it could have been something really amazing if the game measured up to the presentation. Falling off the same damn ledge the same damn time really can annoy you. Make sure you're good at platformers. The game also gets repetitive pretty quickly, And the voice acting is varies from great to lame. Alice is OK, the turtle is diabolical, The Chesire Cat is very good. But it's a pity they couldn't all be good because it's a serious game really

The Bottom Line
Glossy, beautiful, imaginative game made by experienced programmers. Although far too shallow to compete with the best games, still enjoyable. Just don't expect Deus Ex or anything.