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It is indeed safe to follow this action/platformer down the rabbit hole.

American McGee's Alice was unleashed upon the world many moons ago, giving gamers a wonderfully twisted new vision on Alice in Wonderland that makes even Tim Burton's ideas childlike. From the emo attitude to the insanity, Alice was no longer the innocent goody two shoes that was tricked by the agents of Wonderland; she is now grittier, wittier, and wiser. If you are a fan of this cult classic, you then know the tale, experienced the insanity, and no doubt, were eager to venture back to Wonderland once more. If you haven't, and are reading this review in short enough time to act, the game does come packed in with the original for download for free for XBLA and PSN, and PC respectively so you can catch up on the story, and join in the crazy fun.

I, for one, am in the column of "those who have played the first Alice", and once I caught wind of this sequel being released, I was immediately intrigued and anxiously anticipated its release. So the question now is...did the game live up to the promise, or did it leave me feeling angrier than the Queen of Hearts. To say I was leery of the game based on early reviews would be an understatement. Some respectable sites really gave Alice "what for" as far as ass kicking goes, so when I booted up the game, played for the first two chapters and roughly 5 hours I had to wonder...what the "f" were these guys smoking. After the completion of the 5 chapters plus finale I ask the question again as the game is as solid as any platformer, as uniquely artistic as any visionary, and the dialog, story, music, and voice acting more than measure up to what makes the difference between a good and GREAT game.

The game control-wise is a cross between a Sly Cooper platformer and the Legend of Zelda when it comes to combat. This means in short, expect to get your jumping thumb limber as timing and execution will be the key to your success. Fighting baddies will allow you to use a lock-on system that feels very familiar if you played games with a character named Link. Toss in that each weapon option creates a bit of strategy to defeat certain foes from heavy overhead bashing objects, exploding bombs, and even a pepper cannon that will decimate enemies as well as unlock doors. You collect teeth in the game that acts as currency and allows you to upgrade the arsenal of weaponry at your disposal. There were a few instances of camera clumsiness, but none that were ever so bad that it created frustration or peril, just a nuisance more than anything. To be honest though, even the best games, including Zelda have their camera issues, but some reviewers fail to really mention them as they have toward this game. All I can say is there were no issues that presented themselves to this reviewer that stuck out like a sore thumb.

I'd be lying if I said that Alice reinvented the wheel, recreated the genre, or did things so remarkable that it changed the face of action platformers forever, this is NOT the case. What Alice: Madness Returns does is bring back a once thought "dead" genre in a game that serves as a nice change of pace from all these damn FPS shooters out there. It's far from perfect, but even further from broken. Alice looks good, plays good, and has a very decent length that should appease any diehard fan. Toss in that you get the original game for free, and there's less to complain about. If you are a fan of the original Alice, platformers, or just good action titles, I urge you to close your eyes, and follow the sign that says "drink me" and venture down the rabbit hole for a journey you won't soon forget.