American McGee's Return of Alice

[fallenangle]

No idea, as said, just passing on what I read on GameFaqs. Seems to be no certain infornation available just speculation.

[Deuteros]

Yep, the price of the original game is barking mad.

I think what happened to American McGee's Alice was a bit like what happened to Panzer Dragoon Saga. The american version of PDS was rare and that perceived scarcity and corresponding high price rubbed off on the european and, to a lesser degree, the japanese versions. In Alice's case, the going rate for its highly sought-after initial print run copies (whose cover features a bloodstained Alice holding a knife on her hands) undeservedly rubbed off on the asking price for any subsequent releases (whose covers did away with the blood and the knife, the latter substituted by either a wand or some playing cards).

[fallenangle]

So just a minor bit of cover art variation is worth paying significantly over the odds for. Well that explains the sales of the original release copies being so high, collectors willing to pay more for that sort of exclusivity. The second disc also features a rather good smiling Cheshire Cat design so that might also add to the original's interest too.

But there are obviouly some people out there, both sellers and buyers, who haven't understood this as they are asking/paying the same high prices for the Sold Out version.

[Deuteros]

Well, if it weren't for ignorance and greed, eBay's profits wouldn't be quite the same, would they?

I feel sorry for anyone paying a significant amount of money for a Sold Out version of any game...

This reminds me of Planescape: Torment. For a long time, demand exceeded supply so the original release on 4 CD-ROMs fetched a considerable amount. When it was later re-released on a single DVD-ROM, most sellers thought it should sell for as much money as it had been selling for up until that point.

[fallenangle]

There is a good little preview for A:MR at joystiq.com with some new pics too. The look reminds me very much of DC/PS2 Evil Twin whose inspiration was very obviously Alice in Wonderland too, so it's not really surprising. Just hope it's considerably more polished as that had a truly lousy camera, badly implemented gameplay elements and some of the worst gliches I've ever encountered in a console game. It's art design was by far its best feature.

[EvilBoris]

It's been slagged in the US OPSM

A poor pace potholes the proceedings. The game lingers on its jumping puzzles, reveling in presenting us with open vistas that require navigation across partially invisible pathways, weighted platforms, billowing air vents, and ever-shifting floors. With this limited vocabulary, Alice chugs and chugs and chugs. Timing challenges are added and overdone, and some are additionally hampered by the need to shoot targets with a Pepper Grinder gun saddled with a manual aim system that is imprecise at best. The game tops off its overlong, overly gimmick-reliant platform navigation with heroine-crushing blocks, spiked platforms, and flame spitters. In the end, we’re not jumping and soaring across Wonderland but simply grinding it out. 5/10

[fallenangle]

It's been slagged in the US OPSM

Sounds just like proper old school (PS/early PS2 era) slow and more thoughtful 3D platforming to me. I so hope it is and all those whingeing reviewers and gamers used to modern fail-safe platform games hate it with a passion because, in that case, I'll probably enjoy it a great deal.

Good news too as it also means it'll plummet in price over the next three months. I'll save my money and get it then for under ?20, whereas I was seriously considering getting it new on release. I wonder what the Duke Nukem game is going to be like as that is also on my "to get sometime" list?

[EvilBoris]

Well the last 2 platform games American McGee made have been pretty awful, I don't know why this one will be anything different.

[huxley]

There is a free interactive story book thing on the apple app store at the moment.
It's not bad.

[elaniel]

Okay, now I'm worried about picking this up.

[EvilBoris]

mmm Bad Day L.A.

[charlesr]

The OPSM description sounds quite good

[Flabio]

This has always been a 'see how it reviews' kind of game really. The OPSM one is the only one tracked on metacritic so far.

It does look quite pretty in the video footage on Gametrailers 'games of June' video though.

[Number45]

Sounds just like proper old school (PS/early PS2 era) slow and more thoughtful 3D platforming to me. I so hope it is and all those whingeing reviewers and gamers used to modern fail-safe platform games hate it with a passion because, in that case, I'll probably enjoy it a great deal.

Yeah, I have to say I like the sound of it from that. HD remake of the original sweetens the deal too.

[Flabio]

Reviews starting to appear. Eurogamer aren't keen.