American McGee's Alice

The absorbing, nightmarish atmosphere sets the stage for a game that's creative and fresh throughout its entire length.

User Rating: 10 | American McGee's Alice PC

By EdwardMarx | Review Date: December 25, 2009

The absorbing, nightmarish atmosphere sets the stage for a game that's creative and fresh throughout its entire length. The twisted worlds you'll visit range from quaint villages early in the game to surreal worlds where floors move and walls fragment. You're taken from the inner-workings of a clock to a hopeless hedge maze before finally ending up in the massive end world. This is where the platforming element comes in with paths that warp, spin, fall away and generally work to disorient you, creating a real sense of danger and requiring quick thinking. This game IS mad and it will most certainly make you that way.

Many dangers are in your way, but you never learned to play nice, and always have a supply of toys at hand. This is where the third-person shooter element comes in, and allows you to deal with all the mad creatures in your path. Not all are enemies however, and twisted version of the Chesire cat will offer advice whenever it is needed. The soundtrack, composed by Chris Vrenna, fits the game perfectly. Comprised of toy pianos and old toys mixed with haunting strings, it adds to the atmosphere of Alice. ...And the atmosphere is what makes Alice a great game. Without it, the game would be an innovative platformer/third-person shooter, but that really makes the game what it is. It sets the stage and everything else falls into place. The end result is a fully realized, solid game.

Other Helpful Reviews for American McGee's Alice

• Rating:10

  American McGee's Alice is a dark and twisted warp into classic literature.

  By mhaed | Review Date: Nov 16, 2008 | PC

  I love Lewis Carol's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, and Through The Looking Glass And What Alice Found There. Most people know of the book as Alice In Wonderland. The original title, however, was not called this, and ... Read Full Review

  5 of 5 users found the following review helpful
• Rating:8

  You'll never look at Alice in Wonderland the same way again.

  By Jon_To_The_C | Review Date: Feb 23, 2010 | PC

  American McGee's Alice is a very, VERY dark version of Lewis Caroll's story. Or, one could argue that the original story was just as dark, but the game makes it much more obvious. You decide. The game starts showing h... Read Full Review

  4 of 4 users found the following review helpful