It’s safe to say that in New Zealand “Brand 'Me'”, or the cult of the self, is a concept that – like our namesake – just doesn’t fly. Individuals who bluster or grandstand make us uncomfortable; we prefer instead the Hillary-esque quiet achievers.
Very few Kiwis would consider penning an autobiography. Fewer still would attach their own name before all others to anything less than a herculean individual effort.
We don’t go to the movies to watch “Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings” and marvel at Richard Taylor’s special effects. We prefer the inclusive plural down here.
Electronic Arts has today confirmed that retail copies of Alice: Madness Returns will include a one-use voucher that players can redeem to download the original American McGee’s Alice, released in 2000.
American McGee’s Alice will also be available as a stand-alone download from the 14th of June on Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network.
The game will cost 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox LIVE and approximately NZD $15 on the PlayStation Network.
A decade is a long time between drinks. Released in 2000, American McGee’s Alice was a conceptually avant-garde product for an entertainment industry that was still maturing.
American McGee’s Alice painted a bleak future for Lewis Carroll’s character. McGee and the team at Rogue Entertainment proposed that Alice’s house was burned down after the events of Carroll’s novel, Through the Looking Glass, and Alice’s family was killed. Institutionalised at Rutledge asylum, Alice regressed deeper into her imagination but her withering grasp on reality and her increasingly psychotic condition had twisted Wonderland into a place of nightmare.
At the time, it was something of a radical premise for a videogame; Alice was the first M-rated game ever to be released by publisher Electronic Arts. Inevitably, it saw both critical and financial success, and deservedly achieved cult status with many gamers.
Spicy Horse’s American McGee has said that Alice: Madness Returns is seeking an M Rating, meaning you won’t find extreme gore.
Speaking in an interview with Eurogamer, McGee said that the original Alice was about trying to be true to Lewis Carroll’s books.
“This time around it's the same thing: we're trying to be true to this version of Alice that we've created and the world in which she lives and the problems she has,” said McGee.
At EA’s Summer Showcase today, Spicy Horse's Alice: Madness Returns has been detailed. Madness Returns is the sequel to 2000 title American McGee’s Alice. Like the original, Madness Returns is bleak reimagining of Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice in Wonderland.
EA write, “The game follows Alice on a journey through a wildly corrupted and shattered Wonderland to uncover the truth behind her haunted past and tortured psyche. In this journey, players will romp through highly-detailed elaborate worlds, encounter a cast of off-beat characters and engage in epic battles with deadly weapons and sinister villains.”
The game takes place 10 years after the events of the original title as Alice tries to recover from the emotional trauma of her family’s deaths in a fire. Having spent the last decade in an insane asylum, she is released into the custody of a psychiatrist who will try to help her discover the root of her nightmarish visions. The game will be set in gloomy Victorian London and a “provocative” Wonderland.
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Eleven years ago a horrific fire took Alice’s family from her and left her mind horrifically scarred. Afterwards she was confined to Rutledge Asylum, where she struggled to confront her demons by slipping further into her fantasy world of Wonderland. Now, after ten years, she has finally secured her release-yet she still bears the heavy psychological burden of that tragic event.
With her mind in tatters, she is unable to resolve the fear prompted by her strange memories, dreams, and visions. Perhaps she’ll do better in Wonderland. She always has. She travels there, seeking what the “real” world can’t provide: security, knowledge, and the truth about the past. But in her absence, Wonderland too has suffered. Something has gone horribly wrong, and now a great evil is descending upon what once was her beautiful refuge. Can Alice save Wonderland-and herself-from the madness that consumes them both-
Features:
- Intense 3rd person action: Use multiple upgradeable melee weapons, including the explosive Teapot Cannon, the punishing Hobby Horse, and the classic Vorpal Blade.
- Explore a dark and shattered Wonderland: Encounter familiar but now strange characters, including the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the Caterpillar and the Red Queen.
- Magical abilities: Obtain peculiar abilities in Wonderland such as floating with Alice’s dress, shrinking, or growing to towering sizes in order to crush enemies.
- Interactive puzzles: Intuitive and rewarding puzzles such as transforming obstacles, musical memories, chess, and picture blocks.
