The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds
  • print
  • alert

Agentless Backup is Not a Myth

Animation like 'woah'

But never mind the art, though - it’s the animation that really sent shivers down my spine. Alice’s contortionist extravaganza of jumping, shrinking, twisting and twirling double- and triple-jumps through the demons of her sub-conscious is a nod to where the development money behind this game has been spent.

Alice: The Madness Returns

What did they put in his tea?

I especially liked the drinking and shrinking aspect of the game where I could inspect objects not visible to my larger characters’ eye but watch out as this leaves you defenseless. One small quibble with this aspect of this game is that when you shrink the camera angles can feel a bit confined and the game loses some of its scope. The voice acting and writing are extremely high quality and add to, for a change, rather than detract from the sinister feel of the game.

Madness Returns is your standard action platformer, all jump-jump, fight-fight interspersed with puzzles and games. Think God of War mixed with Sonic the Hedgehog. Alice’s paranoia is manifested as many strange creatures and enemies, such as the Ruins, which come across all oil-slick manga babyface chic. Luckily they are easily dispatched with my trusty Vorpal blade or the rather nice addition of my own personal pepper grinder, if only my targeting system worked and it didn’t over heat!

Alice: The Madness Returns

I slide with my little ice

Other nifty weapons include a Teapot Cannon and a Hobby Horse head hammer. These weapons with the right amount of teeth - the game's currency - can be upgraded to make them more powerful. I also found myself collecting shards of Alice's memory, vials of paint and pig snouts which filled out my inventory. All the better to do away with those pesky Madcaps, Eyepots and the odd Executioner.

Customer Success Testimonial: Recovery is Everything

Next page: Platform power

The title is required, and must contain letters and/or digits.

Hehehe

Come now - if I was a young'un I wouldn't be bothered 'cos I'd just be getting it off bittorrent.

I've been gaming since the early 80's on nearly every platform that's been in existence, and to me - 15 Hours just isn't that long. Hell - you could make Chuckie Egg last more than 15 hours!!

1
0

Sniffing glue on tabs of acid.

Now that would be a wicked trip..... Judging by some of the screenshots I think that the Acid Tabs must have been handed out freely within the design department.

Imagine trying to play this game on Acid.......

Turn on, tune in, drop out.

[How unfortunate my Dr Leary coat has just gone and melted into a porcupine revelation]

1
0

Not for me, but...

...at least you won't get comment after comment, after comment moaning about how you didn't test it on a PC and that you tested it on <insert console name here> and it's inferior to PC graphics.

1
0

More from The Register

Samsung Galaxy Note 8: Proof the pen is mightier?
Sammy’s iPad Mini killer has a stylus to stab other rivals too
First look: iOS 7 for iPad
No, Apple hasn't released it yet, but that doesn't stop intrepid devs
 breaking news
Curtain drops on Apple Store ahead of WWDC: What lies behind?
Steve Jobs watching from on high. No pressure, lads
 breaking news
Cold, dead hands of Steve Jobs slip from iPhones: The Cult of Ive is upon us
Billionaire biz baron's death clears way for uber-shiny iOS 7
Airbus imagines suitcases that find themselves
Point your mobe at your smalls to track their every move
Microsoft lures buy-curious vixens, corduroys with a cheap fondle
Surface slab sales latest: Will no one rid Ballmer of these turbulent tabs?
Surprise! Intel smartphone trounces ARM in power trials
Tests show equal performance while sipping significantly less juice
Samsung plans LTE Advanced version of Galaxy S4
1Gbps download capability could stiffen drooping S4 sales forecasts
Apple said to be 'exploring' 5.7-inch iPhone
Who's the copycat this time, Mr. Cook?
Google Chromebooks now in over 6,600 stores
Major, worldwide retail push begins this summer