Genre: Action
Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture
Platform: Playstation 3 (also available
for Xbox 360)
Released: June 12th 2012
Ever wanted to wield a multifunctional
chainsaw, in a quest to kill zombies being brought from the “Rotten
World” by an Evil Goth who was bullied in high school? Welcome to
Lollipop Chainsaw. A twisted and entertaining game from Grasshopper
Manufacture and Suda51 (Killer 7, No More Heroes, Shadows of the
Damned) A game that prides itself on its over the top action and
crudeness. And, while not without its faults, provides an
entertaining experience throughout.
Juliet Starling, high school student,
cheerleader, zombie hunter. The game starts on her 18th
birthday (that’s a relief) and a brief explanation that she plans
to enjoy the day with her boyfriend and family. Only, on the way to
school, things don’t go as expected. Zombies now fill the streets
and are in the way of her meeting place with Nick Carlyle, the
previously noted boyfriend. So of course, there’s only one way
through, slicing and dicing with her zombie hunting chainsaw.
This is where the game starts, and
where the tutorial kicks in, Juliet has several basic moves that are
upgraded as the game progresses. Her basic pom pom attack is
essentially a stun move, it CAN kill zombies, but it takes a long
time. However, after a few hits, they become stunned, and a stunned
zombie can be instantly killed by the Chainsaw. This opens up into a
combo system combining both Pompom attacks and quickly followed by
Chainsaw finales. This however, will turn out to be a problem for
button mashers. The best approach to take with combat is to time each
hit as it happens, and press when the first attack has ended.
Pressing to quickly will have her continue unintentional chains, and
will more often than not, leave her open to attacks from surrounding
enemies.
Unfortunately after our
tutorial/opening level is over, Nick ends up taking a bite for Juliet
and begins to become infected. So, in order for Juliet to still be
with Nick, she does the only sane thing a person would do, Chop off
his head. Upon waking she simply explains to him that its because of
magic. She is able to do this, and off they go again to kill more
zombies. Nick himself is obviously terrified,shocked, awed at this,
but eventually comes to terms with it as the story progresses. He is
also one of the most entertaining characters in the game, every event
or battle in the game has him spouting witty one liners or commenting
on his predicament in a way that only a man tied to his girlfriends
belt as a head would be able to see it. Not only that, but Nick can
be used in a variety of ways throughout the game, to collect money,
attack enemies, or shoot him out of your Chainsaw cannon (yes you
read that right) to quickly stun enemies for easy kills.
You've probably guess by now that, as a
story, Lollipop Chainsaw enjoys being ridiculous, Swan, our evil goth
bad guy has summoned these zombies using a ritual, and has also
created 5 zombie overlords who will reign over the areas of the game.
And, each overlord has there own music to accompany them, from punk
rock to heavy metal, each zombie adds a unique flavour to each area
of the game. And the soundtrack reflects that in full. And the 5
areas of the game are just as interesting, ranging from the
highschool, to a stadium, and ending up at farms and arcades. Each
level has a very unique experience, and always brings a new twist and
element of gameplay to the floor.
Of course, the game is not without its
faults and issues, as stated earlier, the combat is clunky, and until
you learn some new skills and abilities later on, you'll be using the
same combos for a majority of the game. Another “problem” that
may not go over well with alot of people is the profanity in the
game, alot of the characters and enemies swear, alot, and more still
like to point out how much they love seeing Juliets... *ahem* Assets.
While it doesnt take away from the gameplay at all, it gets a little
tedious having enemies call Juliet a whore every other encounter.
Overall, the game itself is a very
enjoyable experience, the story is hilarious and entertaining and the
cast is interesting and fleshed out. Combat, while certainly not the
best out there, is fun and visceral and can become much more
interesting later on after learning the basics and purchasing new
skills. If you like Suda's earlier works, this is definitely a game
worth checking out, and if you're starting with this as your first,
maybe try giving No More Heroes or Shadows of the Damned a whirl as
well. While not for everyone, Lollipop Chainsaw can be a great
experience, and I'd recommends giving it a playthrough at least once.
Presentation 4/5
+Interesting story and characters
+Creative level design and scenarios
-Crude humor may not be for all
Sound 4/5
+Excellent Soundtrack
+Great Voiceactors
-Repetitive zombie shouts
Gameplay 3.5/5
+PomPom/Chainsaw combos are rewarding
+Nick abilities are great
-Combat can be slow and clunky
-Can be repetitive until later on when
new moves become available
Graphics 3.5/5
+Detailed and vivid
-Lack of variety with zombie characters
-Can sometimes stutter during certain
action scenes
Replay Value 3.5/5
+Tons of collectables/costumes
+Has a ranked mode for competing with
top scores
-Game is on the short side averaging
betwen 5-7 hours.
Overall Score 74/100
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