Crystals of "meta-substance", representing the power of imagination, restore sanity and willpower simultaneously. Certain amounts of sanity or willpower can be restored by collecting crystals of "meta-essence", the life force of Wonderland. Willpower is consumed when almost any toy is used, and a toy will not serve its function when Alice's willpower is too low. A magic mechanic is represented as "willpower", and it is displayed as a blue bar on the right-hand side of the screen. When the sanity meter is depleted, the game prematurely ends, after which it can be continued from where the game was last saved. The sanity meter decreases when Alice sustains damage from enemy attacks or an environmental hazard. Outside of combat, the sight plays the role of a jump indicator by taking on the shape of two footprints that appear on the surface of any place that Alice would land if she made a jump.īecause the game takes place within Alice's imagination, the health mechanic is represented as "sanity", which is displayed as a red bar on the left-hand side of the screen. The game's combat system implements automatic target designation: if an enemy character is nearby, the player's weapon sight is automatically fixed upon that enemy. One particular toy, the Jabberwock's Eye Staff, is essential to the narrative and is assembled from pieces scattered throughout the setting. Toys with longer range include the Ice Wand and an explosive jack-in-the-box. The first toy acquired by Alice is the Vorpal Blade, which, along with the Croquet Mallet, can be used for basic melee attacks. Most toys have two modes of use, which differ in the method and strength of the attack. Throughout the game, Alice can obtain up to ten different weapons, known as "toys", for use against enemies.
The game's levels feature many platforms and other obstacles not based on artificial intelligence, as well as puzzles that require solving for further passage through the game. The game can be played at four difficulty levels: "Easy", Medium", "Hard" and "Nightmare". Along with the basic actions of walking and jogging, Alice can jump, cling to ledges, climb and swing on ropes, swim in water, and glide over columns of steam by using her inflated dress as a makeshift parachute. Alice can communicate with non-player characters, fight off enemies and bosses, and solve puzzles. A sequel, Alice: Madness Returns, was released on June 14, 2011.Īmerican McGee's Alice is a third-person action game in which the player controls the titular character Alice along a linear route. As of September 2017, American McGee's Alice has sold over 1.5 million copies. The game was met with positive critical reception, with reviewers commending the high artistic and technical quality of the level design, while criticizing the excessive linearity of the gameplay. After several years of treatment in a psychiatric clinic, the emotionally traumatized Alice makes a mental retreat to Wonderland, which has been disfigured by her injured psyche.Īmerican McGee's Alice uses the id Tech 3 game engine, which was previously used in Quake III Arena and redesigned for this game by Ritual Entertainment.
The game centers on the novels' protagonist Alice, whose family is killed in a house fire years before the story of the game takes place. The game's premise is based on the Lewis Carroll novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871), but presents a gloomy, cruel and violent version of the setting. Although a planned PlayStation 2 port was cancelled, the game was later released digitally for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
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The game was originally released for personal computers running Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. American McGee's Alice is a 2000 third-person action-adventure video game developed by Rogue Entertainment under the direction of designer American McGee and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Games banner.