American McGee's Alice

American McGee's Alice
Companies	Rogue Entertainment, Electronic Arts
First release date	Dec 5, 2000
Original platform(s)	Windows
Third person shooter, Platformer
Twas wintruz, and the sapper John did sliht and sack his boy McGee to focus on and writ upon his tech galumph, Quake III. American, a lad obscure deluguilous of his small fame would join a Rogue who worked next door and their opus bore his name.
When it was first announced, fans of previous Doom & Quake singleplayer campaigns were disappointed that Quake III wouldn't have one. Some even accused it of being a tech demo without a real game attached to it. But it didn't take long for third party developers to license the engine for their games. American McGee's Alice was one of the first, and one of the best, developed by longtime id collaborator Rogue, with Quake level designer McGee at the helm. It's a very linear experience, but is well paced, varied in its environments, and filled with brilliant sequences and surprisingly good writing. McGee's Wonderland is dark, twisted, and quite violent and bloody, but rich and lush thanks to the engine and backbreaking efforts of Rogue's artists. Every crooked alley, creaking floorboard, and gargantuan protruding tongue is astonishingly detailed. Just as much effort was put into the audio; steamworks hiss, clockworks grind, psychotic children's laughter and cries can be heard faintly, and the music is perfectly ambient and suitably creepy. Voice acting is professionally done, with a standout performance by Roger L. Jackson as the Cheshire Cat. Special mention must be made of the supplemental casebook that comes with the game; find a copy and read it, because it's just as much an integral part of the narrative as anything else in the game.
Key people	R. J. Berg, American McGee