Alice in Wonderland
Score: 89% ESRB: Everyone 10+ Publisher: Disney Interactive Developer: Etranges Libellules Media: Cartridge/1 Players: 1 Genre: Platformer (2D)/ Puzzle
Graphics & Sound: Fittingly enough, I requested Alice in Wonderland for review based solely on curiosity. I have no love for Wonderland nor do I feel the need to punish myself by playing licensed games. Instead, I saw some screens and was genuinely interested. As it turns out, my curiosity paid off in a big way. In some weird way, Alice in Wonderland manages to out-Burton Tim Burton's visual aesthetic. Characters are more in-line with what you'd expect out of an artsy indie game and backgrounds follow suit. The game's version of Underland is a flat, jagged world consisting primarily of blacks, whites and the occasional primary color. The look is a bit surreal, but still very familiar, as is the music. There's a dark, yet very whimsical elegance coursing through the entire presentation that will keep you engaged even when the gameplay drags. Also worthy of note is the crisp, organic flow. Visuals carry through into menus; everything looks right at home with no awkward pop-ups or parts that look out of place. Even the title screen fits into the gameplay.
Gameplay: Not only does Alice in Wonderland out-Burton Tim Burton, it also manages to infuse more of Lewis Carroll's unique vision and ideas better than Burton's film. Although the plotline follows the movie's plot (with a few game-related alterations), it carries Carroll's sense of humor and nonsense. Things rarely make total sense, but still work really well. Alice in Wonderland is a team-based platformer. The fully realized front-end menus offer all the backstory you need. Alice tumbles down the rabbit hole in pursuit of McTwisp, the White Rabbit, kicking off her adventure in Underland. From there, you control McTwisp as Alice skips behind you, occasionally asking for help when climbing or crossing a gap. Eventually you're joined by Absalom, the caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter. So just what is a team-based platformer? The idea is similar to Sony's ICO. You play as a "guide" who needs to help another character (in this case, Alice) around the map. You never have direct control of Alice other than to tell her to follow or stop. You want to keep Alice close at all times, otherwise she'll begin to cry, alerting the Red Queen's guards to her location. The only time you can ever leave Alice alone is during boss fights, which open up their own sets of challenges. Each new party member offers a new set of abilities, creating a Metroid-like level of exploration. McTwisp can control time while Absalom can suck in green smoke (draw you own conclusions) to reverse gravity in certain areas. Although you'll do a fair bit of backtracking through areas, the new character mechanics create a new dynamic every time you pass through. There were times where I thought for sure I was in a new area only to discover I was just replaying an area. As the group progresses through Underland, they unlock new parts by recovering jigsaw pieces. In a unique twist, you can arrange puzzle pieces into different formations, creating new routes or even shortcuts to areas. It's little things like this that make Alice in Wonderland worth playing.
Difficulty: Alice is Wonderland is never particularly hard, a trait that will remind you that even though it looks and plays like a "grown-up" game, it is still meant for kids. Occasionally, the Red Queen will send soldiers to capture Alice. Even if a soldier manages to knock you back, it doesn't take much to get back into the fight. You can't swing a pocket watch over your head without hitting something that spits out health. To the game's credit, puzzles are sometimes tricky. One neat feature is how color is used to indicate which party member you'll need. McTwisp can interact with anything purple, while the Mad Hatter fancies orange. Other puzzles either don't use any color, forcing you to think out the solution, or use icons as hints. I had little problem, but I can imagine younger players having some trouble. Even then, none are daunting and offer a nice sense of reward for completing them.
Game Mechanics: The one area where Alice in Wonderland falters a bit is control. The touch-based controls are generally good, though a lot is placed on just a few motions. Nearly every action is based around some slide, flick or drag of the stylus. Early in the game, it isn't an issue, but as you gain new abilities, some of the actions are a little too similar, leading to some confusion. This is most apparent during combat, which eventually boils down to a series of awkward and pointless scribbles. It's chaotic, so be thankful death doesn't come easy and there isn't much combat. Though the controls aren't stellar, character abilities really shine. It's neat to see the number of ways the developers were able use them. There are no puzzles requiring one character to stand on a switch or hold something open. Instead, all are based around using the characters. McTwisp's time-control sections are likely the more "common." The Mad Hatter's ability to flip the world upside down and Cheshire Cat's vanish trick opens up a number of unique opportunities. Although Alice in Wonderland doesn't last long and isn't something you'll go back to once finished, its still worth a purchase. The game takes risks with its design. Not all of them work, but it's great to see a company at least try something a little different from the norm.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
Related Links: PlayStation Illustrated's Review of ICO on PS2 Game Vortex's Review of Metroid: Zero Mission on GBA
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