14 DAY TRIAL // There's some strange appeal when a classic work of literature is turned into a video game. Dante's Inferno is a perfect example and the title has managed to stir a lot of attention. But, when it comes to a strange adaptation of literature, few things top American McGee's Alice. His adaptation of the 1865 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll, is one of the most twisted interpretations of a children's book possible.
Plunged into Wonderland, McGee's Alice takes matters in her own hands as any emancipated girl would, and deals with the Queen of Hearts's army with extreme prejudice and her trusty butcher's knife. In fact, pretty much anything that crosses the path of the new-and-improved Alice will meet its end by the simple but effective tool.
The game was released for the PC in 2000 by Electronic Arts and was developed by Rogue Entertainment and, even though plans for a PS2 port were made, in the end they were canceled. The third-person action game made use of the Quake III Arena engine to depict the gore and took a whole-new approach in Alice's trip down the rabbit hole. The macabre look into the new Alice, as well her visceral way of solving things under the guiding hand of players, forced the game to even change its box art, as Electronic Arts received complaints from various consumer groups regarding the inappropriate content.
The twisted and warped version of Wonderland, and especially of the Cheshire Cat, proved to be a successful vision and the title changed the way players looked at games with roots in children's books. And, finally, after all these years, the title received what any good game deserved: a sequel. The Return of American McGee's Alice had its first teaser trailer released yesterday, and it's everything you would expect upon a first glance at the game.
The clip makes use of clay-model animation to depict the disturbed Alice being brought out of a state of torpor by the Cheshire Cat, once again ready to guide her steps and life-ending hands. The sequel shares the same writer and executive producer as the original game, so we can expect the same dark and eerie experience that American McGee's Alice gave us. The actual trailer is posted below.