The game is the sequel to American McGee's Alice and was directed by series creator American McGee. Alice: Madness Returns follows Alice Liddell, a girl suffering from trauma caused by the death of her family in a fire. Alice was discharged from a psychiatric clinic and now lives in an orphanage for...
The game is the sequel to American McGee's Alice and was directed by series creator American McGee. Alice: Madness Returns follows Alice Liddell, a girl suffering from trauma caused by the death of her family in a fire. Alice was discharged from a psychiatric clinic and now lives in an orphanage for mentally traumatized orphans under the care of Dr. To get rid of the trauma and learn the truth about her past, she once again falls into Wonderland, where a new evil force has corrupted it. Alice: Madness Returns is played from a third-person perspective. The player controls Alice for the entirety of the game for running, jumping, dodging, attacking, and shrinking. In combat, Alice gains a small number of weapons that can be utilized in several ways. The remainder of her arsenal is somewhat akin to the benign and mundane items that take on a deadly quality in Alice's tainted Wonderland in the first game. Two other weapons cannot be upgraded, primarily because they are more defensive than directly offensive: the Umbrella acts as a shield that can be used to deflect and reflect most incoming projectiles; The Clockwork Bomb is a time-delayed/remote-controlled rabbit alarm clock that does a minimal amount of damage to enemies, but its usefulness is better illustrated as a decoy, as well as a weight to keep switches temporarily depressed. Alice's health is tracked by a number of rose petals. Should Alice's health fall to zero during gameplay, the player is forced to start at the most recent checkpoint. A primary mechanic is to use Alice's shrinking potion to reduce in size, allowing her to walk through small spaces like keyholes, but also reveals invisible platforms and surfaces; after returning to normal size, these platforms slowly fade back to invisibility, requiring the player to remember their location. Radula rooms provide a short challenge to the player, which on completion grants a jar of paint; obtaining four jars earns the player another rose for Alice's health. Memories can be picked up that provide voiceovers revealing parts of the game's backstory. Upon completion, the player can start a new game plus, letting them play through the game again but keeping all their weapons and upgrades from the previous attempt.