It's been just over ten years since we were first introduced to American McGee's ALICE. Developed by Rogue Entertainment and published by EA, the game dismissed Disney's previous cartoonish attempt at Lewis Carroll's classic novels and took on a more sinister, menacing approach. Using id Tech 3 with a 3rd-person perspective, the setting took place after Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, focusing on an older Alice disconnected from reality after an accidental fire burned down her house with her family still inside.
While the game itself was rich in visuals and storyline, there's no question that American McGee's name helped propel this alternate Alice to the top of the PC gaming charts. After all, McGee was best known for his previous involvement at id Software, working on various aspects of game development-- from level design to actual programming-- on titles such as Doom, Doom II, Quake and Quake 2. Like George Romero and John Carmack, he was literally a star in the PC gaming industry.
Now American McGee returns this summer with the sequel to ALICE, slated to hit the Windows PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on June 14, 2011. Originally revealed last year, ALICE: Madness Returns promises "a deep and rich combat system that will test the powers of Alice's imagination." According to the game's synopsis, Alice is still struggling with the emotional trauma stemming from her family's gruesome death.
"After spending a decade institutionalized in an insane asylum, she is finally released to the care of a psychiatrist who just may be able to help her conquer the nightmarish hallucinations that still haunt her," EA said last July. "Alice embarks on a mission to root out the true cause of her family's mysterious death, jumping from a gloomy and stark London to a rich and provocative Wonderland."
As before, American McGee has designed the sequel, but this time in conjunction with his studio, Spicy Horse. Based on the concept art and a more recent video clip uploaded to the official site, the ALICE sequel promises to be stunning in both gameplay and presentation when it arrives this summer.
Yes Alice, we still love you... eerie smirk and all.
