New Alice: Madness Returns trailer is gorgeous, horrific

MSNBC has the scoop on the latest Alice: Madness Returns trailer, as well as an interview with creator American McGee, who, despite his other projects, is probably still best known for the original, 11-year-old American McGee's Alice.

Madness Returns is a direct sequel to the cult classic, and takes place eleven years (you're a clever one, McGee) after Alice first fell into a morosely corrupted Wonderland. Alice is doubtlessly madder than ever:

The surreal, dark absurdity of Lewis Carroll's works are perfect material for creative bastardization, and McGee obviously isn't the first to have twisted Wonderland into an even darker microcosm of insanity, but his execution of the original Alice was a vile success. And from what we've seen, he's running Alice through an even grislier obstacle course in Madness Returns.

"It's an actual narrative sequel. It finds Alice living in London and now confronting really the mystery of what happened, as opposed to the damage related to it - though there is still a lot of psychological damage as you move into Wonderland, you'll notice," McGee told MSNBC.

"This game is much more like a murder mystery, it’s her going back into her past again, using her mind as a tool, using Wonderland as sort of a conduit into her mind, and trying to piece back together the events that lead to the death of her family."

Madness Returns is scheduled for a late 2011 release. You can read more about the game's story and McGee's opinions on violence and the artistic merits of games in MSNBC's interview.

Feb 15, 2011