Game of the Month. (08/09)

Something I've been wanting to try out for a while now is a series of posts where I'll try recommending a game each month. I'm going to try focussing on games I've really enjoyed for being different, unique, unknown or just really damn enjoyable for whatever reasons.

So first up for the month of August 09' is American McGee's Alice (PC.) Published in 2000 by EA and designed by American McGee and Rogue Entertainment, this is a dark, macabre retelling of the Alice in Wonderland tales by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson or more commonly known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll in which the world has been corrupted by her mind and insanity. The game plays with many aspects of the first and third person shooter, action/adventure, platformer and survival horror genres.

I think you'd like this game if you are at all interested in the Alice in Wonderland theme or the dark style of some of Tim Burton or Guillermo Del Toro films. On a slight tangent, look out for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland movie coming in 2010. I'm looking forward to that for sure! =p

As for similar games, I really can't think of many. Its one of those really unique games that we are seeing less of nowadays unfortunately. Perhaps the Legacy of Kain/Soul Reaver games, they were platformer/action games with really interesting settings behind them. I don't know much about platformers, but I like the depth and story behind those games. 

The game has been released in the original packaging and also reprinted a few times by various budget lines ie. Sold Out Software in EU regions. The original is a bit harder to track down-expect to pay at least £20 for that. 

Some links, the first of which is an announcement from earlier this year about a sequel to American McGee's Alice on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. Woot!

American McGee's Blog announcement

Wikipedia

Gamerankings

Gamespot

I loved the original American McGee's Alice despite not finishing it. It has such an awesome dark, twisted style to it. I'd definitely recommend the original game and apparantely it works on both Windows XP and Vista as well as older OS's. There is also a seperate Mac version out there. 

Anyway, I've run out of things to say as my brain has turned to mush. Its getting late now...

I hope to bring you more Game of the Month posts in the future. They won't necessarily be on new games, they will be based on the strengths and merits of the games and how much I like them. A true gaming gem in my opinion never ages to the point that it is unplayable. Hopefully you guys can pick up some of the games I'm going to talk about and experience games you might not have tried before. Enjoy!