The Rest

Hoorah! For stability

Glory I say! This is the first game of the holiday season that I have played all the way through without crashing or cursing. A few of you out there might experience problems, but I'm willing to say that the vast majority of you will walk away rather pleased with the polish of this game. I haven't read about too many game related problems; if you have a NVIDIA card worry not. Alice does show some signs of being punted out the door to make the Christmas season, but stability issues were not ignored. And hey, the game is based off of the Q3 engine. I don't think I've ever had a problem with that that game, aside from that accursed 1.27 patch. Grrr…

Shoe shine

Spit and polish - Alice gleams. Simple things such as the save game interface are exquisitely designed. I normally wouldn't even bother to mention it, but after all the Yugo-like games I played this season, it's really nice to find something that managed to roll out the door in one piece.

Feels like the twilight zone

The knight

The save game features in Alice are nothing short of a trip to Disneyland, whilst riding around on good old Eisner's back. You have the option of saving at anytime in the game. You can make permanent saved games, you can make quick saved games. Hell - you can even quick load games the second you turn on the game. To top it off the game saves itself every time you enter a new area. I've been saved, and gone to heaven.

Even the looks of the save game section of the game are so cool as to warrant a mention. I think I can easily say that the load game screen is probably one of the best around. Little old school movie reels play as you choose the correct save point, from a seemingly limitless amount of save games. Load, Save and Delete buttons are the best part about the section. Exactly in that order my friends, LSD. I told you they were on something. I just didn't know what it was, or maybe they just like the Beatles.

Jack bomb

Glowies

The guys at Rogue have so much style it's scary. They even managed to make something as mundane as a crosshair very cool. Your aiming reticle is a glowing dot that moves along the ground. It will actually shimmy up walls, and ceilings. It isn't much to talk about; you just have to see it to appreciate it.

Music

Background music is just that in Alice, you never really notice it. The whole theme of the tracks seems to be of a warped and foreboding children's song. It's pretty decent if you sit back and listen to it, although it tends to repeat rather quickly. Even though the game does have Chris Vrenna of Nine Inch Nails fame, there isn't much that is going to take your attention away from the visuals, forget about your other senses. If you do pay attention to the music, you probably won't be disappointed.

Oh dear.

They look familiar.

Voiceovers

The voice acting in Alice has to be some of the best I have heard, probably as good as Giants: Citizen Kabuto, if not better. The Cheshire cat and Alice are the best in the game; seeing as you have to listen to them constantly, I'm glad it's that way. Alice sounds like a cynical little Briton, a far cry from her innocence in the Disney version, but quite fitting in this macabre world. The cat sounds mocking, seeming as though an evil Alan Rickman crept into this game (the bad guy from the original Die Hard). His mocking and incredibly levelheaded tone really adds to the game.

Other sounds in the game like weapons and death throes are pretty much average, nothing special. The guns all have their own distinct sounds, and the enemies all have their little squeals. Ho hum.

Multiplayer

Alice contains no multiplayer aspect whatsoever. I guess everyone could go around dicing up different colored Alice's, although I doubt that would prove to be very fun. It's nice to note that they didn't bother to tack on a half-cheeked attempt at one though.