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As someone who never played the original Alice I was intrigued by the art style on display here (something other than gritty brown/gray? Consider me attentive), though play-wise I'm not sure how much enjoyment I'd get out of the experience outside of looking at it...maybe I'll give it a go once the price drops.
"The platforming is simple and doesn't really toss many new tricks at you as you go along, but it's well done."
I disagree. I found the lack of "ledge-grabbing" to be maddening in many areas of the game, specifically World 2, where there are a lot of wonky jumps. IMO a lot of the platforming sections are kind of ill-designed, and were meant to take advantage of ledge grabbing, but they never added that feature (that was present in the first game).
I'm glad you enjoyed it, but I did not find the combat system to be very enjoyable either (as a fan of pretty much every action game out there). It's like every enemy has a clear cut "weakness" that you exploit over and over and over. It didn't feel like any enemy could be killed efficiently using all your tools (ie Devil May Cry 3, where you can use no less than 10 weapons to kill anything) and as a result, it didn't feel like the combat system had any diversity - the hand-holding, in part, kind of ruined this aspect.
I disagree. I found the lack of "ledge-grabbing" to be maddening in many areas of the game, specifically World 2, where there are a lot of wonky jumps. IMO a lot of the platforming sections are kind of ill-designed, and were meant to take advantage of ledge grabbing, but they never added that feature (that was present in the first game).
I'm glad you enjoyed it, but I did not find the combat system to be very enjoyable either (as a fan of pretty much every action game out there). It's like every enemy has a clear cut "weakness" that you exploit over and over and over. It didn't feel like any enemy could be killed efficiently using all your tools (ie Devil May Cry 3, where you can use no less than 10 weapons to kill anything) and as a result, it didn't feel like the combat system had any diversity - the hand-holding, in part, kind of ruined this aspect.
Awesome blog that expresses what needs to be said about this wonderful game. Such things that none of the legion of 7 scored reviews managed to get across in their texts, or apparently appreciate. Bravo.
Obviously, I disagree with you, Magnalon. We must fight to the death now. Firstly, why would you need ledge grabbing in World 2? Your triple jump has way more than enough distance to reach any platform, it's just about controlling the camera and sticking your landing. I thought it was gravy. Tricky jumps didn't start showing up until the Queen of Hearts level, in my opinion, where you have to milk every inch of each jump to land safely. While you may have wanted ledge grabbing in the game, it was not designed as such, and as it executes it's platforming vision wonderfully, it thus can't be labled a fault. In my ever so humble opinion. <3
As for combat, that's largely a matter of taste, although I find each enemy has at least two efficient methods of dispatching. For example, using either the Teapot cannon or Hobby Horse to stun the cyclopic enemy teapots, following up with the Vorpal Blade, Pepper Grinder or Hobby Hobby to finish. That's just a simple example, but I could provide numerous others. Maybe you just aren't looking for depth in the right way? It's much more about platforming than pure combat like DMC, but I think it achieves a nice balance between the two. Obviously I love it, and it gets in line with Portal 2 as my fave game so far this year.
TL;DR: You suck, Mag.
;) <3<3<3
Obviously, I disagree with you, Magnalon. We must fight to the death now. Firstly, why would you need ledge grabbing in World 2? Your triple jump has way more than enough distance to reach any platform, it's just about controlling the camera and sticking your landing. I thought it was gravy. Tricky jumps didn't start showing up until the Queen of Hearts level, in my opinion, where you have to milk every inch of each jump to land safely. While you may have wanted ledge grabbing in the game, it was not designed as such, and as it executes it's platforming vision wonderfully, it thus can't be labled a fault. In my ever so humble opinion. <3
As for combat, that's largely a matter of taste, although I find each enemy has at least two efficient methods of dispatching. For example, using either the Teapot cannon or Hobby Horse to stun the cyclopic enemy teapots, following up with the Vorpal Blade, Pepper Grinder or Hobby Hobby to finish. That's just a simple example, but I could provide numerous others. Maybe you just aren't looking for depth in the right way? It's much more about platforming than pure combat like DMC, but I think it achieves a nice balance between the two. Obviously I love it, and it gets in line with Portal 2 as my fave game so far this year.
TL;DR: You suck, Mag.
;) <3<3<3
I have no idea how people could love this game so much outside of falling in love with the visuals.
I dub this phenomenon "Prince of Persia 2008 syndrome".
<3
I dub this phenomenon "Prince of Persia 2008 syndrome".
<3
PoP 2008 sucked ass and was boring , Alice is awesome and fun to play.
I dub this phenomenon "Magnalon is stupid because he doesn't appreciate Alice: TMR also he never played L4D2 with me what's up with that he is a stupid poopyface just because you don't like a game doesn't mean you have to give it a bad revew and he had sex with Hoborg man what a dick Syndrome".
8===D ~~~ O:
(o)(o)
<3
I dub this phenomenon "Magnalon is stupid because he doesn't appreciate Alice: TMR also he never played L4D2 with me what's up with that he is a stupid poopyface just because you don't like a game doesn't mean you have to give it a bad revew and he had sex with Hoborg man what a dick Syndrome".
8===D ~~~ O:
(o)(o)
<3
Any expiration date on the Alice 1 ticket. I have to work my way through some Enslaved and PoP SoT before I think about a new platformer. I have always been intrigued by Alice though.
@BulletMagnet: Just don't be afraid to recommend it to someone you know doesn't really pride themselves in being hardcore. This is a very easy game to recommend to the casual crowd, as it were.
@Magnalon: I personally had absolutely no trouble with the platforming whatsoever. The platforming was actually very easy for me because I felt the controls allowed me enough freedom to do exactly what I wanted.
There was a certain point where I was mostly playing it just to see what would come next, but I never hated the experience. Other games could be infinitely more varied or complex but still just piss me off with poor design. For reference I did say that I was not blown away by the game, even if I had my fun with it. I simply acknowledge that it's a package that some people will hold extremely dearly and I appreciate it for what it is.
@Blasto: I like to think that I have a knack for identifying what's really important about a game. That's something that numbered review scores tend to fail at doing. Glad you liked the review.
@manasteel88: I don't believe there's any expiration date. Take note that you need a copy of the game in order to play the downloaded copy of American McGee's Alice, though. If you don't have a download code you can pay 10 dollars to get one, but the only way to access the game is through Alice: Madness Return's main menu.
It's an interesting approach admittedly. If they were gonna go that far they could have just included the game on the disc, but I suppose this is their way of making some money on used copies. I can't really blame them for it. For buying a new copy you get an awesome deal beyond what's normally expected. You can't really complain.
@Magnalon: I personally had absolutely no trouble with the platforming whatsoever. The platforming was actually very easy for me because I felt the controls allowed me enough freedom to do exactly what I wanted.
There was a certain point where I was mostly playing it just to see what would come next, but I never hated the experience. Other games could be infinitely more varied or complex but still just piss me off with poor design. For reference I did say that I was not blown away by the game, even if I had my fun with it. I simply acknowledge that it's a package that some people will hold extremely dearly and I appreciate it for what it is.
@Blasto: I like to think that I have a knack for identifying what's really important about a game. That's something that numbered review scores tend to fail at doing. Glad you liked the review.
@manasteel88: I don't believe there's any expiration date. Take note that you need a copy of the game in order to play the downloaded copy of American McGee's Alice, though. If you don't have a download code you can pay 10 dollars to get one, but the only way to access the game is through Alice: Madness Return's main menu.
It's an interesting approach admittedly. If they were gonna go that far they could have just included the game on the disc, but I suppose this is their way of making some money on used copies. I can't really blame them for it. For buying a new copy you get an awesome deal beyond what's normally expected. You can't really complain.
Cool, I love the visuals and concept of this game, when I first heard of it I was really excited for it. I can easily see myself buying this kind of game, but according to other reviews it has a bunch of tiny visual hickups that could have used some more polish and according to GT is quite buggy at times. I can see push things like that aside as long as I get a juicy story to long for after each tedious section. I think that I would grow boored with the same enemies and structure but hey , I still appreciate the game. I would love to see a game with this visual style and neat concept / story, but with the gameplay polish of devil may cry or Bayonetta, were combat is king. Neat review, I think I have a more critical view on the game but I loved reading yours !
The art style and concept are very appealing.. but I just hate platformers! For some reason I totally suck at platforming, so this game is going to be a pass unless I see it in a bargain bin at some later point. :(
@wry
That kinda makes it sound like it is on the disc and you have an unlockable code. Interesting approach indeed. I'd rather have Alice on my Hard Drive but if I wanted to play it on my other 360 I'd have to plug it in to the internet because of Microsoft's stupid security stuff. Don't really know where I stand on this as it really is a middle ground as far as wants.
That kinda makes it sound like it is on the disc and you have an unlockable code. Interesting approach indeed. I'd rather have Alice on my Hard Drive but if I wanted to play it on my other 360 I'd have to plug it in to the internet because of Microsoft's stupid security stuff. Don't really know where I stand on this as it really is a middle ground as far as wants.
@jjjenigma: I'm playing the first game included with the sequel on and off, even though I'd played it a bit in the past when it was newer. I'm really sticking with it when I say this game is so much better, just for not being frustrating to get from beginning to end. Having my head smashed by a random rock there was no way I could see coming is not exactly my idea of a good time.
When you compare Wonderland itself there's no comparison either. Alice: Madness Returns blows the original out of the water. Graphics aside, the visuals are just much more abstract and interesting.
Going around and collecting all the hidden items in the game is a good excuse to experience the visuals a second time over.
@Kaggen: I didn't experience much of the glitchiness that the GT review was referring to. I'm curious if he was using an earlier build. When I first put in the game I did experience the whole "game loading around me" thing that was mentioned. I tried installing the game to my hard drive and initially thought it wasn't helping, but after the first "real world" level I stopped having problems.
Maybe the installation helped after the memory from the first level was flushed? No idea. From what I'd been told installing games to a 360 rarely if ever actually has an effect on anything.
In terms of actual gameplay glitches I experienced none, but I can agree the camera and locking system is sometimes problematic.
@Elsa: Unfortunately an affinity for jumping is definitely required to enjoy this game. I recommend you look into Shadows of the Damned if you want a game with crazy art direction, but without the platforming. That'll be the next game I review as soon as I pick up my copy tomorrow.
@manasteel88: It doesn't seem to operate like a normal XBLA game. It doesn't even register as being on your games list. It may or may not be possible to simply copy the file over to another console without having any internet security problems.
When you compare Wonderland itself there's no comparison either. Alice: Madness Returns blows the original out of the water. Graphics aside, the visuals are just much more abstract and interesting.
Going around and collecting all the hidden items in the game is a good excuse to experience the visuals a second time over.
@Kaggen: I didn't experience much of the glitchiness that the GT review was referring to. I'm curious if he was using an earlier build. When I first put in the game I did experience the whole "game loading around me" thing that was mentioned. I tried installing the game to my hard drive and initially thought it wasn't helping, but after the first "real world" level I stopped having problems.
Maybe the installation helped after the memory from the first level was flushed? No idea. From what I'd been told installing games to a 360 rarely if ever actually has an effect on anything.
In terms of actual gameplay glitches I experienced none, but I can agree the camera and locking system is sometimes problematic.
@Elsa: Unfortunately an affinity for jumping is definitely required to enjoy this game. I recommend you look into Shadows of the Damned if you want a game with crazy art direction, but without the platforming. That'll be the next game I review as soon as I pick up my copy tomorrow.
@manasteel88: It doesn't seem to operate like a normal XBLA game. It doesn't even register as being on your games list. It may or may not be possible to simply copy the file over to another console without having any internet security problems.
I tried playing the original not too long ago, and I don't think it aged well AT ALL in terms of the controls. I'm hoping maybe the PS3 download version will be better.
@pedrovay
Supposedly the original had a plan to come out to consoles, but that never happened and the PC version actually replicated a controller's scheme instead of a keyboard. That at least was what I've been hearing, which could be the reason you have such issues with the controls. They just never were that good in the first place.
I've read that this helps for the new console versions, but I don't know for sure.
Supposedly the original had a plan to come out to consoles, but that never happened and the PC version actually replicated a controller's scheme instead of a keyboard. That at least was what I've been hearing, which could be the reason you have such issues with the controls. They just never were that good in the first place.
I've read that this helps for the new console versions, but I don't know for sure.
