Alice: Madness Returns

Sarah Michelle Gellar may never get to play Alice in the on-off movie adaptation of American McGee's Alice. However, this summer gamers get a chance to reprise the role, eleven years on, in the first sequel to McGee's macabre masterpiece, which remains one of my all time favourite video games (I still own a copy for Mac OS).



Alice: Madness Returns delves deep into the dark and violent side of the imagination, creating a nightmarish Wonderland where Alice must face the demons that haunt her visions. Visit the grim reality of Victorian London and then travel to the beautiful yet ghastly Wonderland to uncover the root of Alice’s madness and discover the truth behind a deadly secret, kept hidden for years.



Eleven years ago a horrific fire took Alice’s family from her and left her mind horrifically scarred. Afterwards she was confined to Rutledge Asylum, where she struggled to confront her demons by slipping further into her fantasy world of Wonderland. Now, after ten years, she has finally secured her release—yet she still bears the heavy psychological burden of that tragic event.



With her mind in tatters, she is unable to resolve the fear prompted by her strange memories, dreams, and visions. Perhaps she’ll do better in Wonderland. She always has. She travels there, seeking what the “real” world can’t provide: security, knowledge, and the truth about the past. But in her absence, Wonderland too has suffered. Something has gone horribly wrong, and now a great evil is descending upon what once was her beautiful refuge. Can Alice save Wonderland—and herself—from the madness that consumes them both?

Those with an artistic bent should pickup a copy of The Art of Alice: Madness Returns.

Pre-order Alice: Madness Returns for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 now.

Gellar's Alice

Synchronicity. The Wizard World Philadelphia Spike PALz arrived today and Sarah Michelle Gellar is set to play Alice in the long delayed movie adaptation of American McGee's Alice.

Whilst I welcome the news, the original Dimensions project held promise and after seeing Jennifer Garner in Alias, with it's ambitious Alice In Wonderland subtext, I opine the missed opportunity to see Garner (rumored to be pregnant) play the titular character.

Given the literary roots of McGee's opus, I would have cast Keira Knightley in the titular role! Perhaps a fine line drawing to, literally, illustrate my point... Firing up Corel Painter IX.

Vanilla Sky

Ever felt like you've fallen down the Rabbit Hole a la Alice in Wonderland? Since studying Sociology (A-Level) in the early '90s (prior to the cinematic adventures of Neo and Trinity) I have felt like a postmodern Alice surrounded by a world of symbols waiting to be decoded and/or encoded. Of particular interest to me has been the field of semiology.

The founding Father of semiology was Roland Barthes a French philosopher, linguist, and educator. In general, Barthes wanted to create a way for people to deepen their understanding of language, literature, and society. Specifically, he focused on nonverbal signs. His greatest concern was occidentalism - that the French bourgeoisie considered its culture and mores to be universal. He felt that society is a construction, perpetuated by signs of the dominant values within its culture.

Semiology is, arguably, a tool with which to deconstruct myth and, by extension, reveal the Status Quo!