American McGee's Alice

Reviewed Platform: Xbox 360

Other Platforms: PS3, PC

American McGee’s Alice was originally a game from 2000 on the PC that was to be ported to the PS2, however, this never happened. Personally, I think this is a shame. I once found myself trying out a little bit of Alice on the PC and I found there to be problems with the controls, which seemed far too complex and not allowing for a perfect platforming experience. A port to a console would have been extremely useful, as the entire game had a style that would have better suited a console as opposed to a PC.

It would not be until 11 years later that we would be able to play Alice on consoles. With the release of Alice: Madness Returns, EA also distributed, as a download on consoles, the cult classic from 2000. As someone who has wanted their hands on this game for quite a while I found this extremely welcoming. So, how does American McGee’s Alice hold up as a console port?

The visuals in Alice definitely look dated compared to today’s standards. Yet somehow this does not matter. The world is very angular and the character models are not perfect, yet the player still feels as if they are connected to this world. The dark tones of Wonderland as opposed to the imagined Wonderland from Disney films definitely show the player that Wonderland has hit hard times.

The story of Alice is that of Alice after her second adventure (Through the Looking Glass) falling into madness after her house has burned to the ground, with all of her family dying inside. This initially sets the tone of the game as one of depression and dismay, especially as she is now living in an insane asylum.

Throughout the game Alice travels through her Wonderland, each area and character displaying some part of her broken psyche. The characters from the story, such as the Rabbit and the Mock Turtle appear, displaying different parts of her personality. Her guide is the Cheshire Cat, who appears to be another side of Alice’s ego. As the story continues some of these characters die, some survive, showing the player the extent to which Alice is breaking down, as well as curing herself.

The game’s goal is to find and kill the Queen of Hearts, the cause of all of Alice’s woes and troubles. The threat of the Queen of Hearts is built up throughout the game, as well as the threat of the Jabberwock. Both of these characters, as well as many others, appear in the game as bosses for Alice to defeat in order to advance. Some are easy to defeat, whilst some are extremely difficult.

As well as these bosses there are the normal enemies in the game. These sometimes vary depending on the area, such as red chess pieces appearing as enemies in Looking Glass Land or soldier ants in the Wonderland Woods. Some of these enemies are annoying to fight whilst some are too easy. Either way, this increases the challenge in the combat, which is somewhat slow and flawed but still engaging.

The actual platforming of this game is somewhat hard to get used to at first, but it is easy to get used to later on and is far superior to that on the PC. Not always is it necessary to have precise platforming as there are not as many jumps from one surface to another, as the main focus is exploration and puzzle solving, both of which are excellent. The exploration truly comes into its own during the endgame stages when attempting to navigate mazes. Puzzles are very much based on Lewis Carroll’, mostly being base on words and at times mathematics.

The game lasts for quite a long time, but not so long that one might get bored. All the way it is interesting, engaging and, most of all, fun. It is also surprisingly a bit too logical at times (for Wonderland) though not too logical as to not get a feel for the world.

I recommend buying Alice: Madness Returns almost purely for this game, but who knows, you might enjoy that game too. But that’s another review...

Final Verdict: 9/10

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

Kung Fu Panda, which came out in 2008, was your basic story of clumsy oaf discovers he is destined for greatness and goes on a journey that will eventually end up with him defeating the big bad guy. It had animals, it was greatly animated, had some great voice work and it was absolutely hilarious. Not only that, but Kung Fu Panda was the sort of film that whilst it didn’t leave itself open for a sequel it would obviously create one. So, three years later in 2011 we can now feast our eyes on Kung Fu Panda 2, and it is everything you want it to be and more!

Introducing a new villain, Shen (Gary Oldman), we see that Po (Jack Black) now has to face a bigger threat than the previous villain, as Shen not only wished to take over all of China, but also bring about the end of Kung Fu. And so, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) sends Bo and the Furious Five – Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Crane (David Cross), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Monkey (Jackie Chan) – to stop Shen.

Oh, and did I mention the entire animated cast are animals?

Within the first film, it has to be said that the fact that they were animals didn’t really matter much. It allowed for some gags, such as Mantis being the size of his action figure, and some kung fu moves that no man could do because he has limbs. However, the fact that they were animals still didn’t really mean anything. However, this time we have jokes about their certain species, such as Mantis saying he never knew his father because his mother ate him. This also leads to some amazing visuals, such as Shen unfurling his tail (him being a peacock and all) as well as some very funny but heart-warming moments between Po and his father, Ping, who is a goose.

The plot takes twists and turns through rather complex narrative, be it Po discovering he was adopted, the constant searching Po has to do to discover where he came from, and the motives of the villain. In fact, Shen is possibly one of the most complex villains ever seen in cinema. He suffers from Bond villain syndrome, discussing his plans before killing his enemies, but he still brings a great amount of threat and yet also seems extremely weak at the same time, having to resort to the use of cannons to destroy his enemies.

In fact, one of the most interesting moments in the film (SPOILERS!!!) is when Shen and Po have their final fight and Po gives Shen the choice to redeem himself. Shen almost appears to accept defeat when he continues to fight until his own creation, a cannon, begins to fall on him. Shen has time to move away, but instead, in a shot that lasts maybe a second, he looks at the cannon with defeat, closes his eyes and accepts his death. It is truly a powerful climax to the film that is definitely Oscar worthy. (END OF SPOILERS!!!)

Overall, the plot is fantastic. However, the plot is helped quite a bit by the comedy and action that takes place within the movie. This sequel ups the ante and gives us a wide variety of action sequences, initially showing how far Po has come along in his training as well as showing how his fighting technique flows so well with his friends. Not only this, but it also shows that, while Shen may use cannons to defeat his enemies, he is still a formidable foe when hand to hand combat is involved. At times the fighting can be somewhat slapstick, but this is in keeping with the theme of the film. The fighting also sometimes feels like a Looney Tunes cartoon, which gives a breath of nostalgia to those who used to watch the cartoons.

The film is also a masterpiece of comedy. On more than one occasion the audience found themselves laughing, be it at a visual gag or a straight up joke. On either end this film is comedic gold.

The animation is also fantastic. If you liked the animation of the first film then the animation in this film is exactly the same. However, some segments of the film are not the 3D digital animation we see in other similar animated titles. The film uses 2D animation for flashback segments which look into Po’s tragic past. These segments look beautiful, and I can’t help but wish for the filmmakers to create a film using that art style.

On the subject of the animation, the 3D, on this very rare occasion, actually added a lot to the film. The textures of the world and the characters were brought out in such fantastic detail that the film was beautiful to look at. In no instance was the 3D blurry or in your face. At times some things did pop out of the screen towards you, but not in the “poking you in the eye” sense. I found myself blinking when I saw dough balls flying at me. The film had many chances to have a spear or a stick poke me in the face, but never took that opportunity, which I commend as it is tiresome to see films do this.

Overall, this film is an utter masterpiece and one of the few occurrences, such as with Spider-Man 2, where the sequel is far superior to the original. Not to say that the original wasn’t good, but Kung Fu Panda 2 was far more engaging, far more heart-pounding and far more fun than the original. With a narrative that flowed perfectly, Kung Fu Panda 2 will most probably become one of my favourite films of 2011. Go see it now!

Final Verdict: 10/10