So what is peoples opinion on American McGee's Alice?

[PorcusGrunzus]

I really wonder what people think about the game. Initially I wanted to post this on Reddit but there is no subreddit dedicated to this game franchise. The fact that is it barely available anymore doesn't help either. Cant believe this isnt even on GOG. There was a Remaster bundled with the Special Edition of Madness Returns...

I loved Returns and also played the first game but I honestly don't like it that much. Sure its old but seeing as I play many old games and dont care about graphics, I still dont like it, mostly due to its gameplay and boring world design. I mean all the levels have a similar or same style while Returns has many different worlds. In the original game everything takes place in a weird space dimensions with things flying around and just purple darkness all around with some houses and castles on the way. Really boring for me.

And then the gameplay... Its average at best but the movement and jump system is really MEH. I just dont like the collision of everything, it feels horribly unresponsive and clunky. And then the Story... Yeah its there and all but there just isn't that much happening in comparison to Returns. Its all just a crazy dream in Alice's head and there is barely any "real world" story unlike in Returns. Neither of my problems can be 1999's fault. Generally speaking it feels more like a Indie game compared to Returns.

What I did really like though is the amazing sound design. It feels very lively and the soundtrack is so great. With EAX it is even better, luckily got ALchemy and Creative soundcard. But this alone doesn't really fix a extremely average game with bad gameplay, at least for me.

Even if I go back in time and try to review it with 1999's standards in mind, its average at best.

[Groen90]

Gameplay was still miles more fun than Returns though, and I'm talking mainly about the combat and weapon variety; you had like a dozen different weapons all with different attacks and effects, while here you have... 4? 5 counting the bomb? But most importantly, the original had actual boss battles, while all you do here is platforming and fighting mobs for the whole game until the final boss... this is what left me disappointed the most, especially that time they literally tease you with that giant robot at the end of the level, only to have it collapse out of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ nowhere and leave you blueballed to say the least.
Don't get me wrong, I love both games equally, but there's some stuff each of them did right that the other one is lacking.

[Bree]

English is not my native language so I apologize in advance.

Also SPOILERS AHEAD:

"Even if I go back in time and try to review it with 1999's standards in mind, it's average at best".
Because you are not taking all the standards into account.

The first game was so unlike Dooms and Quakes despite being so like Dooms and Quakes. The fresh idea was brought with dreadful precision and artistic taste. It was SMART. At least by the standards of its time, that were bloated by the stories about smug OP spacemarines. It was "psychological" and subtle.

The second game, at least on the surface, is cartoonishly edgy and lolrandom. Also barely finished. The plot which you are praising suffered a lot. So much was cut that Alice's journey in London turned into a sequence of disjointed episodes. The antagonist who was described as a criminal mastermind and evil scientist turned to be just a cliche over the top villain. Because so much was cut, Alice and the player have almost no real evidence. So the antagonist casually admits to all of the crimes! Even does an evil laugh in the end! In the game that honestly tries to explore serious adult topics!!!

Compare this to the Queen of Hearts' monologue at the end of the first game.

A:MR is like a backstory for the tabletop RPG character straight from RPG Horror Stories subreddit! And a lot of events of the first game were retconned for the sake of this primitive revenge story.

And what's worse A:MR was and is barely understandable. Most people never saw anything behind its gore and insane randomness. Youtubers and translators spread misconceptions about the plot cementing A:MR's image as lolrandom game about teenage angst, nice visuals and, well, --=-= R#PE =-=--

I like A:MR. But I like it more for what it was planned to be than for what we actually got.

[Go_Coup]

Originally posted by Groen90:

the original had actual boss battles

There was a boss fight, but American said it felt "too gamey" and it was "annoying." They cut it out and made the boss crumble automatically. I imagine they were going to have boss battles. Whether they were cut because of what American said or if they were really cut because of money/time, I don't know.

[PorcusGrunzus]

Originally posted by Go_Coup:

Originally posted by Groen90:

the original had actual boss battles

There was a boss fight, but American said it felt "too gamey" and it was "annoying." They cut it out and made the boss crumble automatically. I imagine they were going to have boss battles. Whether they were cut because of what American said or if they were really cut because of money/time, I don't know.

I was always wondered about the Robot fight because it looks so much like there is going to be a fight and then it just explodes from alone, lol. I dont quite see the sense in removing that fight but oh well, its McGee's product. I wonder if the code and content is still in the games data and could be restored. ^^

I would have prefered if they cut the boss fight from the original Alice. Most of them felt really annoying because of the rather bad gameplay and movement feedback. Some weapons like that cricket bat were fun but most were just... meh... I find the combat in Returns so much more responsive and satisfying, one of the best parts of the game for me anyway.

[Groen90]

Originally posted by Go_Coup:

"too gamey" and it was "annoying."

smh

[Tayzor Azul]

I loved the soundtrack and the atmosphere. ID tech 3 had a certain charm to it.
Gameplay tho not so much but it was tolerable. I wish American had another go at it and make it in UE 5.

[zero hope >:(]

I think AMA is a masterpiece, while AMR feels like an uninspired generic cashgrab sequel. Yes, it has a few good shots of its own here and there, but -heh- no.

So, how's AMR worse than AMA:
1. The style is lost to a complete absence of a coherent vision. No sick gothic grasp anymore, save for Alice's trademark dress perhaps. An eastern location with samurai wasps? Dafuq?
2. The setting has not much to do with Wonderland anymore. Mostly we travel some unclear distant places fighting random outlier things, like living dolls and black goo with porcelain mask - these can be seen in any generic eastern horror i guess.
3. Alice isn't badass anymore. Now instead of being a sullen goth-killer she feels like a victim girl, trying to recollect her wits. I know she is, but come on!
4. Cheshire produces bad quotes and does a poor job as a guide character.
5. The story is a made-up crap. An evil doctor introduced to take the blame for everything doesnt live up for a sequel excuse.
6. AMA has amazing OST, while the AMR music lies somewhere in the realm between "unremarkable" and "will do".

Then again, how's AMR better than AMA:
1. Dodges and Umbrella make them fighting funnier
2. A proper gaypad adaptation
3. Improved visuals. Those roughly-carved wooden AMA models somehow fit the twisted gothic vision of Wonderland, but tbh I always detested 90's 3D graphics, ever since back then. It was a huge improvement.

Gameplay-wise neither game does offer a good sport - the gameplay is rather about an experiencing an adventure, than about taking challenges. Somehow AMA has that dreamlike feeling that makes you want to experience it again, while AMR hardly offers a reason to be installed the second time.

[little idiot retartd]

Originally posted by zero hope:

I think AMA is a masterpiece, while AMR feels like an uninspired generic cashgrab sequel. Yes, it has a few good shots of its own here and there, but -heh-:mrb_ivan: no.

So, how's AMR worse than AMA:
1. The style is lost to a complete absence of a coherent vision. No sick gothic grasp anymore, save for Alice's trademark dress perhaps. An eastern location with samurai wasps? Dafuq?
2. The setting has not much to do with Wonderland anymore. Mostly we travel some unclear distant places fighting random outlier things, like living dolls and black goo with porcelain mask - these can be seen in any generic eastern horror i guess.
3. Alice isn't badass anymore. Now instead of being a sullen goth-killer she feels like a victim girl, trying to recollect her wits. I know she is, but come on!
4. Cheshire produces bad quotes and does a poor job as a guide character.
5. The story is a made-up crap. An evil doctor introduced to take the blame for everything doesnt live up for a sequel excuse.
6. AMA has amazing OST, while the AMR music lies somewhere in the realm between "unremarkable" and "will do".

Then again, how's AMR better than AMA:
1. Dodges and Umbrella make them fighting funnier
2. A proper gaypad adaptation
3. Improved visuals. Those roughly-carved wooden AMA models somehow fit the twisted gothic vision of Wonderland, but tbh I always detested 90's 3D graphics, ever since back then. It was a huge improvement.

Gameplay-wise neither game does offer a good sport - the gameplay is rather about an experiencing an adventure, than about taking challenges. Somehow AMA has that dreamlike feeling that makes you want to experience it again, while AMR hardly offers a reason to be installed the second time.

3 years late to tell u you're cringe and stupid