jonc2006
March 3rd, 2008, 21:49
ive had been thinking about doing up a review for some time now but i had never gotten around to it for three reasons basically:
1.) im lazy
2.) could never decide on which game i wanted to do one on.
3.) im lazy
so i have decided to just do one for one of my favorite pc "3rd person shooters": american mcgee's alice.
for those of you fools that dont know, american mcgee got his start by doing some maps and audio stuff that were included in the retail versions of doom doom 2, quake, and if i remember correctly, quake 2. a little while after he left id software, joined EA, and then eventually (along with a group of amazingly talented people) created this game, alice. sadly most people consider this to be his only real hit, his more recent work doesnt seem to reach the same quality level as alice but i still say he is a really creative designer. he is considering doing more games like this one based on stories like the wizard of oz (hopefully) and grimms fairytales i believe.
anyway, alice (for those of you who live under rocks), is a twisted version of an already twisted story, alice in wonderland. the whole alice in wonderland story is probably best known by its disney film adaption that goes by the same name. however this whole thing actually started out in a book format written by a guy name lewis carrol. if you actually care you can read all about this and all the lsd (apparently) inspired shinnanagans here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland). alice the game, is a much darker, gothic and seriously twisted take on it. basically alice has become a total basketcase after losing her parents in an accidental house fire. as the game progresses you learn that she is jacked up in the wacko box because she blames herself for what happened and fears a life alone. while locked up in the asylum, she returns to wonderland only to find wonderland has gone insane as well and the inhabitants are being subjected to the cruel wrath of the red queen and her minions. the game basically has you controling alice, helping her regain her sanity so she can restore her reality and wonderland back to normal while jumping, swimming, swinging, and stabbing any fools that you encounter along the way. which indeed makes for my kind of game.
this game is a few years old at least, so i would imagine any modern computer would be able to run the game with all the settings cranked up. and since the game runs on a modified quake 3 engine, if your system can handle that game, it can probably handle alice. with my system it ran at a constant 85FPS without vsync (but i had tearing issues with it disabled), and a constant 60 with vsync enabled. FYI, the min. system requirements are:
Mac OS 8.6 (or later) Windows 95/98/2K/XP, 400 MHz PowerPC G3, 128 MB RAM, ATI Rage 128 or NVIDIA GeForce2 MX with 8 MB VRAM or better, 150 MB hard drive space.
edit- i do not know if this game will run under something like linux so if you use an O/S that is not included in what i listed above, i think it would be smarter to first see if the demo runs at all and then if it works, buy the full version.
the overall level design and atmosphere is truly incredible. each level will catch your attention with stunning design, textures, and lighting effects. the levels never get boring or constantly rehash something seen in a previous level either. gameplay within the levels consists of fighting enemies (which just about every one is taken from the books/movie in one way or another, most of them have some relation to the original concept), jumping platforms to progress in the levels, collecting keys, pushing switchs, and solving various puzzles. the puzzles are sort of in the middle of the road when it comes to difficulty, and while i never had any trouble getting around them, they fit in with the levels well and are pretty creative. you stay alive by collecting "meta-esseance" scattered about the maps or from enemies you kill. as you take on more damage you "sanity" meter drops, and when it runs out you die, i guess. its wonderland so who knows what really happens? every few levels, usually to mark the end of a chapter or section, you fight a boss. they vary in difficulty, one in particular is friggin hard, but not impossible, i think i only smacked about 2 people in my last playthrough. boss fights are rather fun to take part in and most of them die with a satisfying head explosion or something of the sorts.
one feature that i found to be pretty original is the part of the games jumping system. with jumps that consist of jumping from very small platforms and/or with short distances in between, you can use a targeting crosshair to have the game jump for you provided you have it aimed right by just holding the jump button down for a few seconds. generally with other platformers these kinds of jumps are difficult to pull off and lead to many pimp slapping sprees of frustration but with alice, the game can do these smaller jumps automatically if you aim the jumping crosshair in the right spot. larger jumps between bigger platforms are obviously done the usual way because the auto jump is only used for really small ones that are difficult to calculate where you would land normally, and it would make the game too easy if it did large jumps for you. the only complaint i have really was that the levels were very linear, you could never really explore these areas as much as you would like to. given their awesomeness, it would have been nice to have a sense of freedom within them but in a way this sort of works in your favor because you will never really get lost and not know what to do or where to go, which comes in handy in such an insane world.
while the graphics are dated compared to what we have today, it still looks damn good imo and has some of the best water effects/textures ive ever seen on a quake 3 engine game. the game has some really nice reflection effects and tasteful use of distance fog in certain maps (this is an intentional distance fog and is done in a few maps to increase the atmosphere and overall theme/look). the character models are very well made with fluid animations and creative designs. you never feel like you are controlling a tank or someone walking in mud or something. the movement of alice is very smooth and more easy to control than your typical 3rd person game. the designs of the characters and enemies are twisted versions of the designs in the book and movies, they all look like something thought up by someone like tim burton. for example the cat is now has a skeletal-like build and has an almost demon like appearance to him, the white rabbit has these freaky eyes and the mad hatter has fitted most of the other characters, specifically the march hare and doormouse, with some really disturbing cybernetics, sort of akin to the strogg from the quake series. after playing this game you can probably reach the conclusion that either the strogg created the hatter, or the hatter created the strogg.
one other thing that also stands out imo are the weapons. rather than your typical guns and flashy solid snake style gadgets, the weapons alice finds in her twisted little wonderland are all things you would probably find in a childs playbox (aside from the knife and maybe a few others but thats debatable nowadays). you will blast your way through wonderland with a knife, a deck of razor sharp playing cards, a croquet mallet that electricutes fools upon contact, an (explosive) jack-in-the-box, a wand that shoots this icy stuff, a pair of jacks, and and a set of dice that can summon demons from the underworld that will fight for you (or if you are either alone, unlucky, or lost your bet on the superbowl: against you). in total there are eight weapons with one of them being optional and stored away in a rather hard-to-find location if you are not looking for it and (ok ONE) flashy solid snake style gadget - a pocket watch, that freezes time for a time so you have time to kill instead of time to die. rather than using an ammunition counter for each individual weapon, most weapons drain from the same power source ("will power") as they are fired. the default weapon and my favorite obviously, the knife, is the only weapon aside from the flashy solid snake style gadget that drains no will power. nearly all the weapons have a primary and secondary fire modes which vary in usefullness depending on the situation. for example the knifes primary attack mode is a simple melee stab which can be used to fight close combat enemies and to fend off sneak attacks from mike tyson, and the knifes secondary is a ranged attack where alice throws the knife to hit out of range enemies, surface-to-air missiles, or flying-type pokemon (and is quite useful, considering it doesnt cost any willpower, pokeballs, or require any expensive military hardware).
the sound is probably the best part, specifically the music. it was created by the ex-nine inch nails drummer, chris vrenna. it consists of creepy lullaby melodies with a musicbox-like sound to them and other strange stuff. this game has one of the best soundtracks ive ever heard in a game, they all fit the levels so well and really add to the feel of the game. ive actually got a few of the tracks on my itunes thingy. the voice acting is very good and it really makes the characters believable and more 3 dimensional rather than being boring cardboard cutouts with no life to them. i never really give much thought to sound effects in games i play so since im lazy and that i really dont pay much attention to this catagory anyway, i will just say the sound effects never made me want to switch the audio off (and i mean that in a good way).
this game is also something that i found i was able to play though over and over again. ive actually played it back to back several times and it never bores me, the only other game that i can say does this for me is chrono trigger. and we all know what that game is like. there are 4 difficulty levels so that is also something that could keep your intrest if thats the kind of thing you look for in some games. as for multiplay, this game has no multiplayer but i honestly dont see how something like that would be done with this game anyway. not to mention i dont particuarly care for multiplayer modes in most games anyway. so this game is specifically done with single player mode in mind and only single player mode in mind. alice is actually one of the best games i have played, and i have played alot of games. while it isnt perfect and has its share of very minor flaws (mostly nitpicky stuff on my part), the way the game is presented more than makes up for that. i really suggest getting this game if you are looking for one that is both creative, immersive, and pulls it off well.
gameplay- 9.5/10 (fairly easy to get into and learn how to play, typical gameplay goals such as collecting things, stabbing fools, and puzzle solving in order to progress to the end of a level. a little more difficulty added to the puzzles would have been nice but they were still pretty good. and the game was a little too linear but in its defense: this in turn makes it so you never become hopelessly lost in what to do. boss fights range from easy to very difficult, and for the most part the difficulty of them increases as you advance in the game so you most likelywont get your ass kicked by the 1st boss but you can expect the last few to get the job done.)
graphics- 10/10 (for its time, its was one of the best looking games available with effects like water/mirror reflections, dynamic lighting and detailed textures. levels have unique layouts and designs and really take form of every meaning contained in the word "creative".)
sound- 10/10 (music is downright incredible, every track fits with the game and the level, voice acting is very well done too, all the characters have a really defined uniqueness to them and sound effects bring the worlds to life)
replay- 10/10 (never gets boring for me, there is no multiplay but how that effects your opinion on the game depends on if you really care about multiplay modes anyway. since i dont really do that whole multiplayer thing in any of the games i have, i dont really see the lack of a multiplayer mode as something negative.)
overall- 9.8/10 (simply put: its really good. really REALLY good. you dont come across to many games like this these days. yes it has a few flaws but they are not the type that actually take away from the playability of the game itself.)
you can download a demo of it here (http://www.download.com/American-McGee-s-Alice-demo/3000-7563_4-10051630.html).
you can view various screenshots here (http://alice.planets.gamespy.com/files/screens.shtml).
you can find a site with a good deal of other info on the game here (http://alice.planets.gamespy.com/)
and last but most certainly not least, you can buy the game here (http://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Arts-14145-American-McGees/dp/B00004UE0V/ref=pd_bbs_sr_8?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1204706206&sr=8-8). (that is a link to the win95/98 version. i noticed at the time of writing this the xp version was selling at like $80 which is nuts so i decided to link it to the less expensive version i saw. even though this one is for pre-xp O/S, i would imagine you can get this particular version working in xp somehow. ive got many other games like that myself and one way or another, you can get them to work. if you dont want to buy that version you can check ebay for a lower priced copy of the xp version).
until next time fools. :evil:
1.) im lazy
2.) could never decide on which game i wanted to do one on.
3.) im lazy
so i have decided to just do one for one of my favorite pc "3rd person shooters": american mcgee's alice.
for those of you fools that dont know, american mcgee got his start by doing some maps and audio stuff that were included in the retail versions of doom doom 2, quake, and if i remember correctly, quake 2. a little while after he left id software, joined EA, and then eventually (along with a group of amazingly talented people) created this game, alice. sadly most people consider this to be his only real hit, his more recent work doesnt seem to reach the same quality level as alice but i still say he is a really creative designer. he is considering doing more games like this one based on stories like the wizard of oz (hopefully) and grimms fairytales i believe.
anyway, alice (for those of you who live under rocks), is a twisted version of an already twisted story, alice in wonderland. the whole alice in wonderland story is probably best known by its disney film adaption that goes by the same name. however this whole thing actually started out in a book format written by a guy name lewis carrol. if you actually care you can read all about this and all the lsd (apparently) inspired shinnanagans here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland). alice the game, is a much darker, gothic and seriously twisted take on it. basically alice has become a total basketcase after losing her parents in an accidental house fire. as the game progresses you learn that she is jacked up in the wacko box because she blames herself for what happened and fears a life alone. while locked up in the asylum, she returns to wonderland only to find wonderland has gone insane as well and the inhabitants are being subjected to the cruel wrath of the red queen and her minions. the game basically has you controling alice, helping her regain her sanity so she can restore her reality and wonderland back to normal while jumping, swimming, swinging, and stabbing any fools that you encounter along the way. which indeed makes for my kind of game.
this game is a few years old at least, so i would imagine any modern computer would be able to run the game with all the settings cranked up. and since the game runs on a modified quake 3 engine, if your system can handle that game, it can probably handle alice. with my system it ran at a constant 85FPS without vsync (but i had tearing issues with it disabled), and a constant 60 with vsync enabled. FYI, the min. system requirements are:
Mac OS 8.6 (or later) Windows 95/98/2K/XP, 400 MHz PowerPC G3, 128 MB RAM, ATI Rage 128 or NVIDIA GeForce2 MX with 8 MB VRAM or better, 150 MB hard drive space.
edit- i do not know if this game will run under something like linux so if you use an O/S that is not included in what i listed above, i think it would be smarter to first see if the demo runs at all and then if it works, buy the full version.
the overall level design and atmosphere is truly incredible. each level will catch your attention with stunning design, textures, and lighting effects. the levels never get boring or constantly rehash something seen in a previous level either. gameplay within the levels consists of fighting enemies (which just about every one is taken from the books/movie in one way or another, most of them have some relation to the original concept), jumping platforms to progress in the levels, collecting keys, pushing switchs, and solving various puzzles. the puzzles are sort of in the middle of the road when it comes to difficulty, and while i never had any trouble getting around them, they fit in with the levels well and are pretty creative. you stay alive by collecting "meta-esseance" scattered about the maps or from enemies you kill. as you take on more damage you "sanity" meter drops, and when it runs out you die, i guess. its wonderland so who knows what really happens? every few levels, usually to mark the end of a chapter or section, you fight a boss. they vary in difficulty, one in particular is friggin hard, but not impossible, i think i only smacked about 2 people in my last playthrough. boss fights are rather fun to take part in and most of them die with a satisfying head explosion or something of the sorts.
one feature that i found to be pretty original is the part of the games jumping system. with jumps that consist of jumping from very small platforms and/or with short distances in between, you can use a targeting crosshair to have the game jump for you provided you have it aimed right by just holding the jump button down for a few seconds. generally with other platformers these kinds of jumps are difficult to pull off and lead to many pimp slapping sprees of frustration but with alice, the game can do these smaller jumps automatically if you aim the jumping crosshair in the right spot. larger jumps between bigger platforms are obviously done the usual way because the auto jump is only used for really small ones that are difficult to calculate where you would land normally, and it would make the game too easy if it did large jumps for you. the only complaint i have really was that the levels were very linear, you could never really explore these areas as much as you would like to. given their awesomeness, it would have been nice to have a sense of freedom within them but in a way this sort of works in your favor because you will never really get lost and not know what to do or where to go, which comes in handy in such an insane world.
while the graphics are dated compared to what we have today, it still looks damn good imo and has some of the best water effects/textures ive ever seen on a quake 3 engine game. the game has some really nice reflection effects and tasteful use of distance fog in certain maps (this is an intentional distance fog and is done in a few maps to increase the atmosphere and overall theme/look). the character models are very well made with fluid animations and creative designs. you never feel like you are controlling a tank or someone walking in mud or something. the movement of alice is very smooth and more easy to control than your typical 3rd person game. the designs of the characters and enemies are twisted versions of the designs in the book and movies, they all look like something thought up by someone like tim burton. for example the cat is now has a skeletal-like build and has an almost demon like appearance to him, the white rabbit has these freaky eyes and the mad hatter has fitted most of the other characters, specifically the march hare and doormouse, with some really disturbing cybernetics, sort of akin to the strogg from the quake series. after playing this game you can probably reach the conclusion that either the strogg created the hatter, or the hatter created the strogg.
one other thing that also stands out imo are the weapons. rather than your typical guns and flashy solid snake style gadgets, the weapons alice finds in her twisted little wonderland are all things you would probably find in a childs playbox (aside from the knife and maybe a few others but thats debatable nowadays). you will blast your way through wonderland with a knife, a deck of razor sharp playing cards, a croquet mallet that electricutes fools upon contact, an (explosive) jack-in-the-box, a wand that shoots this icy stuff, a pair of jacks, and and a set of dice that can summon demons from the underworld that will fight for you (or if you are either alone, unlucky, or lost your bet on the superbowl: against you). in total there are eight weapons with one of them being optional and stored away in a rather hard-to-find location if you are not looking for it and (ok ONE) flashy solid snake style gadget - a pocket watch, that freezes time for a time so you have time to kill instead of time to die. rather than using an ammunition counter for each individual weapon, most weapons drain from the same power source ("will power") as they are fired. the default weapon and my favorite obviously, the knife, is the only weapon aside from the flashy solid snake style gadget that drains no will power. nearly all the weapons have a primary and secondary fire modes which vary in usefullness depending on the situation. for example the knifes primary attack mode is a simple melee stab which can be used to fight close combat enemies and to fend off sneak attacks from mike tyson, and the knifes secondary is a ranged attack where alice throws the knife to hit out of range enemies, surface-to-air missiles, or flying-type pokemon (and is quite useful, considering it doesnt cost any willpower, pokeballs, or require any expensive military hardware).
the sound is probably the best part, specifically the music. it was created by the ex-nine inch nails drummer, chris vrenna. it consists of creepy lullaby melodies with a musicbox-like sound to them and other strange stuff. this game has one of the best soundtracks ive ever heard in a game, they all fit the levels so well and really add to the feel of the game. ive actually got a few of the tracks on my itunes thingy. the voice acting is very good and it really makes the characters believable and more 3 dimensional rather than being boring cardboard cutouts with no life to them. i never really give much thought to sound effects in games i play so since im lazy and that i really dont pay much attention to this catagory anyway, i will just say the sound effects never made me want to switch the audio off (and i mean that in a good way).
this game is also something that i found i was able to play though over and over again. ive actually played it back to back several times and it never bores me, the only other game that i can say does this for me is chrono trigger. and we all know what that game is like. there are 4 difficulty levels so that is also something that could keep your intrest if thats the kind of thing you look for in some games. as for multiplay, this game has no multiplayer but i honestly dont see how something like that would be done with this game anyway. not to mention i dont particuarly care for multiplayer modes in most games anyway. so this game is specifically done with single player mode in mind and only single player mode in mind. alice is actually one of the best games i have played, and i have played alot of games. while it isnt perfect and has its share of very minor flaws (mostly nitpicky stuff on my part), the way the game is presented more than makes up for that. i really suggest getting this game if you are looking for one that is both creative, immersive, and pulls it off well.
gameplay- 9.5/10 (fairly easy to get into and learn how to play, typical gameplay goals such as collecting things, stabbing fools, and puzzle solving in order to progress to the end of a level. a little more difficulty added to the puzzles would have been nice but they were still pretty good. and the game was a little too linear but in its defense: this in turn makes it so you never become hopelessly lost in what to do. boss fights range from easy to very difficult, and for the most part the difficulty of them increases as you advance in the game so you most likelywont get your ass kicked by the 1st boss but you can expect the last few to get the job done.)
graphics- 10/10 (for its time, its was one of the best looking games available with effects like water/mirror reflections, dynamic lighting and detailed textures. levels have unique layouts and designs and really take form of every meaning contained in the word "creative".)
sound- 10/10 (music is downright incredible, every track fits with the game and the level, voice acting is very well done too, all the characters have a really defined uniqueness to them and sound effects bring the worlds to life)
replay- 10/10 (never gets boring for me, there is no multiplay but how that effects your opinion on the game depends on if you really care about multiplay modes anyway. since i dont really do that whole multiplayer thing in any of the games i have, i dont really see the lack of a multiplayer mode as something negative.)
overall- 9.8/10 (simply put: its really good. really REALLY good. you dont come across to many games like this these days. yes it has a few flaws but they are not the type that actually take away from the playability of the game itself.)
you can download a demo of it here (http://www.download.com/American-McGee-s-Alice-demo/3000-7563_4-10051630.html).
you can view various screenshots here (http://alice.planets.gamespy.com/files/screens.shtml).
you can find a site with a good deal of other info on the game here (http://alice.planets.gamespy.com/)
and last but most certainly not least, you can buy the game here (http://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Arts-14145-American-McGees/dp/B00004UE0V/ref=pd_bbs_sr_8?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1204706206&sr=8-8). (that is a link to the win95/98 version. i noticed at the time of writing this the xp version was selling at like $80 which is nuts so i decided to link it to the less expensive version i saw. even though this one is for pre-xp O/S, i would imagine you can get this particular version working in xp somehow. ive got many other games like that myself and one way or another, you can get them to work. if you dont want to buy that version you can check ebay for a lower priced copy of the xp version).
until next time fools. :evil: