American McGee's Alice

The Good
There are many things to like about this game. First off, the graphics are just drop-dead gorgeous. The scenery is as spaced out as one would expect from a game with a knife-wielding Alice. From the lush outdoors to the spooky buildings, the graphics are always a pleasure on the eye. Secondly, the levels are great. Every level has its own unique graphics, and design, giving the player the feeling of being totally immersed in another world. One of the best levels, for instance, is one where the surfaces of the walls are like mirrors, reflecting other walls. Thirdly, the controls are great: it doesn't take very long to learn how to move about and fight. Finally, the game's difficulty slowly increases as you get more used to controls and gameplay. For instance, the first few levels pits you against cards that die with one or two hits. Later however, you battle rooks and knights, each of which attack in different ways, and require a different amount of hits to dispatch.

The Bad
The requirements of the game are a let down. The first time I played it, I reached a point after which none of the game's sprites would show up. So everything was white, except for the levels. This made playing difficult. Of course that was because my video card was a stinky one. After getting a new system, however, the game screams to be played. Also, at times, the controls can be over-sensitive. This is esp. frustrating when negotiating jumps: sometimes you jump onto a platform, only to land near the edge. Desperate to avoid falling off, you quickly move back, only to accidentally run off the back.

The Bottom Line
The gameplay is good, the voice acting is great, and the graphics are superb. This game will definitely appeal to fans for 3rd-person perspective 3D games, and maybe even the RPGers (I mostly play RPGs myself). Words cannot describe how great a gaming experience this was, esp. since I'm playing it for the umpteenth time.