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Alice: Madness Returns
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posted06/20/2011 04:49 AM (UTC)by
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Garlador
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02/23/2003 03:56 AM (UTC)
Not sure how many folks out there got to experience the dark, twisted, and well-created original PC masterpiece, American McGee's Alice, way back in 2000, but the sequel arrived (right on the day Duke Nukem dropped), and it got a rather luke-warm reception from the critics.

... But fan feedback has been surprisingly far more positive. The game has flaws, but there are a lot of strengths there.

I decided to give the game a shot, and I've been amazed at how much I enjoy it. There is almost nothing else like it on the market. The closest example I can come to is perhaps Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, a beautiful set of worlds and environments with tons of secrets to collect, memories to find, platforms to navigate, and vistas to explore.

The fact that you get the original game (which still sells on Ebay for $60-300 depending on version) for free if you buy the game new was a great bonus.

Anyway, I was curious if there were any other Alice fans out there, or those interested in this dark, twisted, beautiful wonderland of a game.
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acidslayer
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 •06/19/2011 07:02 PM (UTC) •
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i liked the series but never owned any of the games. this one looks quite good. do you know the specifications on the pc version of alice maddness returns.

i played one of the alice games on ps2 and it played a bit akward to alice for the pc. i really like the art in this game and the vids of her in a institution look awesome. the graphics have been improved to see more detail through out the levels.
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Chrome
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 •06/19/2011 07:25 PM (UTC) •
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Unimpressed.

McGee's take on Alice goes along the lines of the violent, contemporary pop -or rather peripherial culture hardcore interpretation of an otherwise wacky, celebrant lucid dream. I was content with the first one despite the derivative nature of the "dark reinterpretation" in both artistic style and concept, and frankly ... that game delivered, and indeed, I was genuinely feeling sorry for what happened to the Dormouse for example in the first one.


This sequel doesn't have the same punching power. The first one was an exercise in (an otherwise uncalled for) new iteration within the then mainstream trends (it kinda runs still, ever since 90's, and the 2000's were genuinely celebrating subjects with dark nature) which excelled in what it did, even if it did not cater to my needs or to the original material in the first hand.

This is solely exercise, and I do not feel a creative spark behind it, only technical improvement of presentation.
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KingBellsprout
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 •06/19/2011 08:32 PM (UTC) •
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I read that the environment looks beautiful from far away but really shitty up close.
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Garlador
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 •06/19/2011 08:59 PM (UTC) •
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TheNinjasRock071394 Wrote:
I read that the environment looks beautiful from far away but really shitty up close.


Yes and no. Some of them look great, others don't. Sometimes it's because the Unreal Engine does that "loading textures" thing that has plagued games using it for awhile and the details take a while to pop in. Some textures are blurry, some are crisp. Some areas look jaw-dropping. Others are just okay. The graphic quality is inconsistent, but the art style is undeniably amazing.
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Ninja_Mime
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 •06/19/2011 09:34 PM (UTC) •
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I'm interested in the game, but I have yet to even play the first.
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Garlador
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 •06/20/2011 01:56 AM (UTC) •
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Ninja_Mime Wrote:
I'm interested in the game, but I have yet to even play the first.


You get the original game for free in any copy of Madness Returns you buy. The original Alice sells for $60-300 on ebay all on its own, so it's a great 2-for-1 deal if you buy the sequel. Even if that doesn't interest you, there is a built-in "previously on" journal in the game that tells you what you missed.
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Ninja_Mime
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 •06/20/2011 03:30 AM (UTC) •
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Garlador Wrote:
You get the original game for free in any copy of Madness Returns you buy. The original Alice sells for $60-300 on ebay all on its own, so it's a great 2-for-1 deal if you buy the sequel.


Even with a digital copy? I don't see anything about the original on Steam.
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Garlador
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 •06/20/2011 04:15 AM (UTC) •
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Ninja_Mime Wrote:
Garlador Wrote:
You get the original game for free in any copy of Madness Returns you buy. The original Alice sells for $60-300 on ebay all on its own, so it's a great 2-for-1 deal if you buy the sequel.


Even with a digital copy? I don't see anything about the original on Steam.


Sadly, it wasn't on Steam. It was on PC retail and directly through EA's store (digital copy included), but Alice wasn't even on Steam until recently (there's been some crazy EA/Valve mix-ups going on between their Steam and Origin services and Alice was taken off, then put back on, but without the original Alice).

Console release is the best bet for it (it does play better with a controller), or you could try and find a used copy of Alice 1 (but those are expensive).
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toast_is_toasty
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Cred for badass sig goes to KeenanBoots.

•06/20/2011 04:49 AM (UTC) •
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I bought it today and I rather enjoy it. I find it disturbing, but in that good, "I want to keep going even though this is freaking me out" way. And I haven't even completed the first chapter yet. The technical issues don't really destroy the experience, either. But then again, I don't mind a little graphical quirk every now and again in my games.
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