That rare sort of game that grows on you and enchants you with its magic. One of the few invigorating games around.
Cons: One or two levers too much, invisible walls on occasion, some glitches (although these are extremely rare!)
It's been 11 years since we last heard of Alice, and thankfully she hasn't changed all that much in that time. Speaking of which, for Alice it has only been one year after she has left the Asylum, at which point we find her at the beginning of Madness Returns. The game will throw us back and forth between Alice's Wonderland and XIX century London. The two perspectives complement each other and it's a great way to show what is happening.
So first let's talk about gameplay, shall we? Since this is a platformer at the core of said gameplay, you'll get plenty of jumping and... jumping. Alice likes jumping so much you'll even be able to execute a sort of a quadruple jump, with gliding in between (each jump being weaker than the previous one), which sometimes will be a lifesaver. Count in invisible platforms (which you can detect through the shrink sense), and mirage landscape and exploring Wonderland gets very exciting. Of course some might say this can get a bit boring or straightforward, but in essence this game requires of you something in the line of understanding for it. Apply that sort of thinking (i.e. don't expect a head rush through action here) and you'll very much enjoy the game. As said somewhere earlier the story is wonderfully told. You'll be presented both scripted videos as well as some wonderful 2D movies to explain the plot. It's all quite wonderfully done really. Some people complain about said invisible wall, but in my opinion, needlessly. First of all, the adventure is linear, just like God of War, and second of all, the game is linear, just like God of War. And since in the said game, nobody complained about linearity and invisible walls, why should we do that here? Sure, sometimes you get artificially bound to one track, but it honestly doesn't happen too often. It's actually rare to come across those walls, and it sure as hell does not spoil the game. So that's that.
On the ps3 (dunno about the other versions except that on the PC you get an added boost in graphics, through PhysX on nvidia cards) the graphics are solid, and I was really impressed with the splendid animations of Alice herself (I got really fond of that hair of hers). No drops, not even when you get a screenful of enemies. You might come across a blurry texture here and there, but I for the most part did not notice these. The musical score is very in the mood, which is to say, it is eerie, moody and fits the game very much indeed.
Alice: Madness Returns is an honorable return of Alice since her last game, and she is more fun than ever (at the moment you can dress her in as much as 8 superb dresses). The level of interactivity is high (game-wise, not gameplay wise, and this is not a vice, this is the nature of the game), and the whole idea is a blast. If you're looking for an exhilarating story, memorable characters, and splendid creative imagination throughout the game, you should be getting Alice: Madness Returns in the very, very near future if you haven't done so already.