Perhaps it was just a dream, but last week I attended a mad-hatter’s tea party. There was a very long table and it was overflowing with pots and teacups of different sizes and styles, each with a little note that read “Drink Me”. Populated amongst these were an equal variety of trays and baskets full of cupcakes and biscuits, each with a similar note that read “Eat Me”. This turned out to be useful because it all looked too good to eat and some encouragement was needed. There, along one side of the table, sat the characters of Alice In Wonderland; Alice, the Mad-Hatter, White Rabbit, March Hare, even the Red Queen herself. These were not the characters you and I know from the books, but the alternate versions appearing in Tim Burton’s upcoming movie, played by Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter, and Stephen Fry, amongst others. Although it turned out that everyone was celebrating their unbirthday that day, the real occasion was a glimpse at the video games based on the movie, created by Disney Interactive for the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS and due for release the same day as the film, March 3rd.

Now before I get to the games, there’s one piece of business I should really settle as I’m sure some of you who have looked through the photos are quite excited about the special edition Tetley tins. Available only in Canada, these round and square tins, along with boxes of the tea bags, go on sale in grocery stores starting today, February 1st. There’s a full series of tins, each displaying a different character on the front, and I wish all you collector’s out there some very happy hunting. Clearly Disney expects this to be one of the biggest movie launches this year and are going all out to hype it as best as they can.

Both the movie and the games follow Tim Burton’s idea of a new sequel for the Lewis Carrol books. Alice is now nineteen years-old and her previous adventures are long forgotten as mere childhood daydreams. The adventures, of course, were real and the characters and their world have lived on. Now they have need for Alice and reach out to pull her once again down the rabbit hole where, older and wiser, she tries to help sort out the insanity once again.

There are two games, both titled “Alice In Wonderland”, the same as the movie, one for the Nintendo Wii and PC, and another for the Nintendo DS. Work on both began before shooting on the movie had started, and in both cases Tim Burton approved each decision and step, handing over to the creators at Etranges Libellules Studios his own rules and guidelines. For example, Burton insisted that the game not use Alice as a playable character. He asked for this in order to force the game designers to think outside of the box, to avoid simply creating a game that merely copied or followed the film.

Instead players control all the other characters, using them together to solve complex puzzles, fight off bad guys, and protect Alice who follows along. You’ll begin with one character, and then as you venture forth slowly unlock the others. At any time you can switch between these characters, but you’ll only play one of them at a time.

Each contributes a different power. The White Rabbit can control time, using his clock (which you pretend to wind with the Wii Remote) to slow-down actions within the game, leaving you to move at normal speed. The March Hare is paranoid to the point of telekinesis and can use his powers to move game objects about. This allows for some very creative puzzles. In one water-based level you’re given half a boat. Using the March Hare you must life the boat and hold it against the surface of the water, so that it’s reflection creates the other half of the boat, making it whole for you to use.

The Cheshire Cat has the ability to make things visible and invisible. Once something is invisible you can walk right through it, to the point where you can move through solid earth by making each section of ground invisible at a time. The Mad-Hatter’s insanity has given him the power of perspective. At key points in the levels you can place him where he can look at things from a different angle and, as if by magic, they change.

The final member of the troupe is the Dormouse who, easily the smallest of the characters, is the most agile and so the fighter, capable of performing quick attacks and special combos. There is no health bar in the game, instead Alice herself takes that role. As Card Guards and other monsters attack, they move towards her, intend on dragging her through a red portal to be lost forever. You must fend off the attacks and should you get tied up, break off to rescue her from the portals where she can literally hover on the brink of danger, holding out a single hand for you to grasp and do your best to pull her back.

The puzzles are quite inventive and the gameplay very intriguing, more than you’d ever expect from a movie tie-in. Visually it looks incredible, with all of the actors lending both their likenesses and voices, and Burton himself lending all of his imagery. Which is quite impressive when you consider that the movie itself still has to be finished (a final cut is due to be completed soon). The game looks so good that it’s a shame Disney choose to skip production on a version for the Xbox 360 or PS3. Based on past releases, Disney says that the Wii version of their games has out-performed the others by such a large margin, that focusing on the Wii makes sense.

For the Nintendo DS game designers Etranges Libellules made a brash and bold move in asking Burton if they could do the game in a completely different style from the movie. Although it features the same story and concept, you play the other characters to protect Alice and solve puzzles, it portrays them in a graphic novel style that is full of cartoonish expression and the same dark fantasy style that Burton is known for without actually duplicating any of his previous works.

Delivering the same inventiveness in terms of powers and puzzles, the DS version is a side-scrolling adventure where you can manipulate time, move objects, and even re-arrange the game world, changing the levels around like floor tiles in order to create new game paths and avenues. The only character missing is the Dormouse, instead of hacking-and-slashing through groups of baddies, you can roll or evade past them, placing the focus squarely on puzzle challenges that play with illusions and perception.

Both games look quite fantastic and based on what they reveal of the film, so does Tim Burton's movie. This time it's safe to say no one will lose their head.