A Review of the Alice: Madness Returns Game for PC

Suspension of disbelief is a common term in film, but games require a similar level of immersion to succeed. The best games dunk your head into the waters of their worlds, and don't bring you up to breathe until the credits roll. But when some elements don't work, that suspension shatters and screams: it's just a game. Alice: Madness Returns is an uneven journey of immersion that hits a lot of high points but constantly shows off its cracks. 

At its heart, Alice: Madness Returns combines the weapon-based fighting of third-person action games with more conventional platforming. Combat is fluid – it animates smoothly, it's responsive, and Alice flows from one move to the next without stutter or stop. Dodging is fast, adding to the feel of Alice as a lethal character. The variety of weapons encourages an organic construction of combos, based on each item's strengths. Knocking over an armored enemy with the Hobby Horse, slashing it open with the Vorpal Blade, and then finishing them with the Pepper Grinder is a seamless barrage. Alice's acrobatics are also a lot of fun to apply. Navigating Wonderland via jumps (and double-jumps and triple-jumps), floating, and shrinking makes things more interesting, and viewing secret messages using Shrink Sense to find hidden paths and items adds to Alice: Madness Returns' exploratory experience.

Alice: Madness Returns takes bits and pieces from Lewis Carroll's original vision and filters them through a gritty, new light to great effect. Set after the events of American McGee's Alice, Madness Returns finds Alice outside the insane asylum. But her madness hasn't been cured, and she sets out to discover exactly who, or what, started the fire that killed her entire family, and triggered her insanity. Alice: Madness Returns jumps between an eerie London and the ruined depths of Wonderland, with a story full of interesting riddles and surprising reveals. Characters from the original American McGee's Alice return, and are a great addition – especially when their motives have changed and fit into American McGee's world in new ways. 

Alice: Madness Returns' Wonderland is enormous, beautiful, and imaginative. During its best moments, Alice: Madness Returns is a memorable portrait of a fantastical world. Soaring through the clouds of the Cardbridge is inspired, and walking the streets of a gloomy London is an excellent counterpoint to the brighter light of Wonderland. The two-dimensional, newsprint-style cut-scenes between chapters are stylish and interesting.

Wonderland isn't all scenic magic. While the majority of Alice: Madness Returns is set amidst imaginative beauty, exploring Wonderland also reveals graphical inconsistencies. With ugly textures coating the Mad Hatter's domain, or the pixilated blue explosions of pig snouts and other graphic weirdness, Madness Returns has a hidden backside of blocky blandness.

In comparison to the bizarre and vibrant world of Wonderland, Alice: Madness Returns' performances are somewhat mundane. Supporting characters help flesh out Wonderland with interesting performances, but Alice barely reacts to the ups and downs of the dramatic arc. The music grows tiresome during longer sections, but sets an appropriately haunting tone otherwise. 

The cracks in Alice: Madness Returns' immersion show most in its exploration, though. Invisible walls block the flow of exploration. Fallen logs can't be traversed, despite a map that continues on their other side. What's worse, though Alice can shrink to a size where she should fit into certain areas, she won't – the level won't let her. This is frustrating, an archaic reminder that Alice: Madness Returns is just a game.

In small chunks these elements remain fun, but set against lengthy gameplay sessions they grow repetitive. As Alice: Madness Returns' bizarre mystery unfolded, the limits of the experience showed themselves. There are dozens of levers to pull, countless slides to jump on, and a plethora of similar battles to conquer. But Alice: Madness Returns is content to step on its own foot. 

Overall, I give this game a 10 out of 10. This game is full of everything that is fun to a First Person Gamer.

A Review of the Child of Eden Game for Xbox 360 and PS3

Child of Eden truly is an experience unlike any other this generation (save maybe Rez HD of course). The story doesn't really matter or make much sense, but basically you're saving a girl and the Internet, which is now known as Eden. Child of Eden is essentially a first-person, on-rails shooter. You're not actually killing anything; you're purifying databases full of corrupt information. It's just you, the reticle, the music and the visuals -- a simple, yet effective formula. It's difficult to explain why it's so cool, but once you get your hands on Child of Eden, everything will make sense. 

Each level (or archive) outlines a specific part of life on Earth. Beauty is comprised of plants and butterflies, Evolution includes a whale transforming into a bird, and Passion is more of an industrial paradise filled with machinery. The neon art style alone is something to gawk at, but the incredible score ties each level together perfectly. This is one of those games where the songs got stuck in my head for days and I wanted to play the game just to hear the soundtrack again. The sights and sounds work together to place you in a sort of happy trance. I felt my troubles melt away and the only thing I had to do was explore Eden. 

You eliminate impurities plaguing Eden by shooting in two main ways: rapid fire shots or a lock-on gun where you select targets and then release a button (flick your wrist if you're using Kinect) to exterminate them. There are multiple control schemes for both a regular controller and Kinect, so you can find what's most comfortable for you. 

I've heard people dismiss Kinect as a viable control option because there's no vibration feedback. After trying both control options for Child of Eden, I found that I preferred Kinect's superior responsiveness. Yes, Kinect makes navigating Eden's databases far easier. In fact, the analog sticks seem clunky compared to swiftly moving your hand around the screen. 

As for the lack of vibration, I ended up becoming my own feedback by swaying to the beat. I'm sure I looked ridiculous dancing back and forth and flinging my right arm about, but I was having a damn good time.