-I’ve had this one finished for a bit now, but I thought that since I put up Mortal Kombat Deception and Skyrim in the same day that this one deserved a bit of a wait. Anyway, I’ve been excited for this one for a while. For those of you that don’t know, Lollipop Chainsaw is the latest game directed by Suda 51, who has one of the most unique catalogs of games in the business. There’s Killer 7, a sort-of rail shooter with puzzles, branching nonlinear level design, and a main character with 8 different personalities each with their own weapon and health bar tasked with taking down a terrorist group that wants to use scary demon things to rule the world, and that’s just the beginning. Then there’s No More Heroes 1 &2, stupidly violent hack-and-slashers staring an anime/pro-wrestling nerd who uses a “beam katana” to become a professional assassin in two of the best games to ever release on the Wii. Next there’s the previously reviewed Shadows of the Damned, a silly third person shooter with a plot structure that isn’t too different from Super Mario Brothers if you can believe that. And now there’s Lollipop Chainsaw, the story of a ditsy cheerleader and her disembodied head of a boyfriend killing zombies. Oh dear.

-With Killer 7 and the No More Heroes games, it seemed that Suda 51 was mostly in control of his own creations, but lately he’s been having to share the spotlight. In Shadows of the Damned he had Resident Evil 4 director Shinji Mikami on hand to keep him from being as weird as he wanted to, which in turn made the game suffer. This time around Suda has some help from Hollywood director James Gunn. He’s no household name, but he’s had his fair share of stuff. While most may remember him as the director of Super, I haven’t seen Super, so I’ll always remember him for Slither.

-Anyway, our main character is Juliet Starling, a cheerleader at San Romero High (obvious reference is obvious). Today is her 18th birthday. She comes from a weird family of demon hunters consisting of her mom, who only exists in cutscenes.

Juliet’s dad, who looks like a cross between Garcia Hotspur and Elvis Presley

Her younger sister Rosalind

and her older sister Cordelia

Other support characters include her crazy old sensei (I hope I spelled that right) and her boyfriend Nick, who is bitten by a zombie and then “saved” when Juliet decapitates him (it’s complicated). There’s more details later about why the zombies are here and what will ultimately come of all this, but it doesn’t really add or subtract much from the game as a whole. I found this picture while looking up these images, and it about sums things up.

-Anyhow, onto the gameplay. As with most Suda games, the levels are generally pretty easy, with the only form of challenge coming in the boss fights. There is one major head-scratcher about the combat, though. You’d think a game called Lollipop Chainsaw would be all about the chainsaw, but you’re supposed to use Pom-Pom attacks to make the enemies dizzy at first, then use the chainsaw to kill them. It kinda reminds me of the kicks from No More Heroes that I only ever did when I wanted a different sort of way to kill somebody. Also, none of that matters, because as soon as you buy the A, A, X combo from the shop, there is no reason to ever use anything else.

-As much as I enjoyed my time with this game, sometimes it got a bit tough to stick with. The one part that seems to be getting the most criticism, and rightfully so, is Zombie Baseball. A couple levels in, Cordelia gives you a chainsaw blaster that you can use to shoot zombies from a distance. The first thing you have to do with it is play baseball, sort-of. You see, some parts of the game have you sticking Nick’s disembodied head on a headless zombie so he can move something, and Zombie Baseball involves you defending him as he VERY SLOWLY runs the bases for three points. If he dies, it’s game over. It is the second most frustrating point in the game, only beaten out by a stupid mini-game in the arcade/disco chapter that I don’t care to explain.

-If it sounds like I’m really down on this game, it’s only because the few problems it does have are so glaring compared to how cool the rest of the game is. In the end, Lollipop Chainsaw is a fun time. It’s not a particularly long game, and if going back for collectibles and alternate costumes isn’t of interest to you, then you had better wait for the price to go down, but I for one am glad that I played it. 76/100 cool

You’re welcome.

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He is one out of 3 people that really inspire me

According to Shinji Mikami, director of Resident Evil 4, Suda 51′s heart was not in the final release of Shadows of the Damned, which he acted as Executive Director of the project. The director went on to say, “It became a completely different game. That was a bit disappointing. I think Suda was unable to create the scenario he’d originally had in his head, and he rewrote the scenario several times. I think his heart was broken. He’s such a unique creator, so it seems to me that he was not quite comfortable with making this game.The game was nothing like Suda had planned, which is rather sad. Mind you, if we’d made it as he originally planned, it probably would have sold even less, but it would have been very unique.”

It is hard to say anything because I’m not one to believe something unless I hear or read it from the main source’s mouth. But if this is true, then wow. If I can say something to Suda 51 then I will tell him that I liked Shadows Of The Damned even if it wasn’t his ideal end product. It still came out good. If there was something you can say to Suda what would you tell him? Out of a lot of game companies out there, his company and he himself are the few that are doing something different, hate to see a guy like this get discouraged from making great games.

[Source]

Rarely does the gaming industry use smut and scantily clad lady folk to monopolize a given game or franchise, right? (Insert obvious sarcasm here) Before I had even touched this game I may have believed this to be just that; looking upon the various trailers, screen shots and cover art. This is an obvious trap that we should not fall into, yet, should not totally avoid either. Lollipop Chainsaw lies on the fringes of smutty voyeurism but used as an enhancer to its comedic features; in a nutshell, It pokes fun at a hell of a lot of typical cliches. The only way to experience this is to enter the trap and enjoy our time sitting there in our dirty, dirty hole… (take your minds out of the gutter…) The game takes some key aspects of eccentric and zany Anime conventions and mixes it with popular American teen culture; as if watching a film created by Akira Toriyama, John Hughes and Seymour Butts. This combination would obviously work very well to its goal; a whacky storyline, simple gameplay and a plethora of ridiculous characters. This game is definately ‘out there’ but retains enough credibility to still seem very cool.

Suda 51 always comes out with some crazy shit, and that’s a known fact.  However great the story, concept or humor is in a Suda 51 game, there usually is something holding the title back from overall greatness.  Sometimes its control or gameplay, and in Lollipop Chainsaw’s case, people are going to say the game is too short.  Fortunately, those people are wrong…this game contains more than enough replay value to add to the single player experience.

Lollipop Chainsaw contains 7 Levels (and that’s including the Prologue and the final Boss Fight level) on paper this seems like a short game.  Each level is roughly 30 – 45 minutes long, which again doesn’t seem very long (the math on that comes to 3.5 hours – 5.25 hours).  But is that really a bad thing?  I don’t think so.  If every game had a 20+ hour campaign it would seem like more of a chore to play it than an actual fun past time.  This is why Lollipop Chainsaw works with a shorter campaign, before the game drags on and bores the player, it wraps up nicely, leaving you wanting more.  This is why I was eager to jump into the levels again and unlock more attacks, costumes, and player upgrades.  I wasn’t bored, it was still fresh, I wanted to beat my high scores and attempt to get some more achievements.  Max Payne 3 was about 12 hours long and I couldn’t wait for the campaign to end after about the 7th or 8th hour. Max Payne 3 unlocked new difficulties and modes once I completed the campaign, but by then I had no interest in the game because the campaign dragged the fun out of the gameplay.  If Lollipop Chainsaw were to come out with DLC Levels in the future, I’m positive I would purchase them.

I’ve been raving all this time about Lollipop Chainsaw and still haven’t got into the details of the actual game.  It is a beat-em-up/brawler game, the main character is a cheerleader and her weapon of choice is a chainsaw.   Hacking and slashing through zombies, unlocking new combos the game grew on me the more I played.  At first I felt like it had a clunky combo system and didn’t compare to other beat ‘em ups I had played.  As I unlocked more skills, the better grasp I had of the game, then I started getting more multi-kills and I was hooked.

Lollipop Chainsaw is full of the violence Suda 51′s games are known for.

The boss fights in Lollipop Chainsaw are the big end-level events that I remember from old-school games.  A lot of modern games lack big boss fights, and Lollipop Chainsaw has them, usually in multiple phases too.  Each fight unique and each one great in their own way.  The boss fights were definitely a highlight in the campaign, and all part of the reason why  I wanted to replay the campaign after I finished.

The visuals in Lollipop Chainsaw are average at best, but it does have a great soundtrack with unique songs (is there a Suda 51 game that doesn’t?).  The controls are simple, and as previously mentioned the combo system’s depth grows with more skills unlocked.  As far as game modes go, there is only the Campaign & Ranking Mode, so again, on paper the game seems like it doesn’t include much to it.  The humor of the game is twisted, vulgar and perverted like other Suda 51 games and had me, my fiance and friend all cracking up at some of the ridiculousness.   As a result of the zombie attack Juliet’s (the main character) boyfriend is now nothing more than a talking head that she carries around like an accessory.   This felt very familiar to Johnson the talking skull from Shadows of the Damned, but this was a welcome similarity that really helped add to the dialogue and jokes through the game.  Even with me being a Suda 51 fan, when I first saw Lollipop Chainsaw I wasn’t very interested, it looked too goofy & stupid, I expected the humor to fall flat.  I’m glad to say I was very wrong, and this game probably surpasses the humor in all of Suda’s previous works.  It wasn’t too difficult to accept being a cheerleader with a chainsaw instead of a “dude” with a lightsaber or gun.

There is more than enough content to keep a perverted gamer happy

Besides the boss fights, one of my favorite parts of Lollipop Chainsaw was the “mini-games” found in almost every level, all equally fun and insane.  From making basketball shots with zombies heads that you decapitate, to running swarms of zombies over with a tractor, to playing a pseudo Pac-Man and more.  These all add to the campaign and freshness of the game, keeping it from getting repetitive or stale.  Also, again, adding to my reasoning in replaying the campaign.

Pseudo Pac-Man, and other Mini-Games help keep the gameplay from getting stale

Final Value: $30 – I got Lollipop Chainsaw at a steal of a price, but I know not everyone will be as fortunate.  For anyone that is a fan of Suda 51′s previous work, I’m sure they’ll be more than satisfied with paying $60 on this game.  I would have to say for the average gamer though, $30 would probably be the sweet spot for them to justify this purchase (probably $20 if they don’t plan on ever replaying).  I haven’t played many of the 2012 releases, but as of right now, surprisingly, Lollipop Chainsaw is probably my favorite so far.

]]> http://flawedgaming.com/2012/07/08/lolipop-chainsaw-price-sliced-down-to-40-this-week-on-amazon/ Sun, 08 Jul 2012 14:33:50 +0000 Ryan Fanus http://flawedgaming.com/2012/07/08/lolipop-chainsaw-price-sliced-down-to-40-this-week-on-amazon/ http://keepitreelreviews.com/2012/07/05/lollipop-chainsaw-2012/ Thu, 05 Jul 2012 20:36:13 +0000 Keep It Reel Reviews http://keepitreelreviews.com/2012/07/05/lollipop-chainsaw-2012/ Lollipop Chainsaw by Thomas Balgairies

Where to even begin with this game, the premise is ridiculous, the characters are outrageous and the jokes are way way way weird. So this is the latest outing by eccentric game creator Suda 51 (Shadows of the Damned, No More Heroes) and his production house Grasshopper Manufacture. If you’ve ever seen any videos of his previous work you know that Lollipop Chainsaw had to come from the same brain. The story goes like this; Juliet Starling is an 18 year old cheerleader from San Romero High. She starts off by realizing that she is late to meet her boyfriend Nick. She leaves her home in a rush only to find that that her school has been overrun by zombies. From here on you fight your way to Nick only to have to cut his head off to save him, and you find some guy (never caught his name) who summons five super zombies that you have to kill. Oh, I forgot to mention you’re a chainsaw wielding zombie hunter…

Might as well start with the positive, this is a really neat looking game with a  comic book styling mixed in with My Little Pony style rainbows every so often, yeah it’s going to be that kind of ride… The humor can sometimes leave you laughing to the point of tears, but more often than not you end up groaning in discomfort or just being grossed out. Most of the good dialogue comes about from the conversations between Juliet and her beheaded boyfriend Nick. Their banter is definitely the wittiest and funniest of the bunch. Juliet also has some very interesting choices for catch phrases, my personal favorite being, “What the dick?”

By far the greatest thing about this game is the soundtrack. Honestly if the soundtrack wasn’t there I probably would have played this game on mute. There is a good mix of pop, some heavy rock and even some really weird experimental music in some levels. I can safely say that no other game will get you singing Toni Basil’s Mickey, trust me, and I’m a guy so it kind of weirds me out at times. This is a beat’em up style a game where you go from area to area cutting up zombies with great ease. You have shops at various parts of every level where you can spend the medals that you amass throughout the levels on things like health, damage, and new moves. So, in this type of game you would expect the game’s combat to be stellar, well it’s alright but not great. Juliet has a good move pool which grows as you go and buy upgrades, but during combat you often feel a small amount of unresponsiveness from the combat which is slightly disheartening. Also, another issue that comes about with this type of game is that players by nature will come to rely on a small group of moves. I’m happy to say that for me this game does not fall under this trap. I used every move that I was able to afford almost all the time. This is because they just look so cool. With every slash you get funny rainbow effect and with every pompom smack you get a little burst of stars, and the combos take great advantage of this. Another cool moment that you will come across often is what the game calls Sparkle Hunting. This is when you are able to kill three or more zombies in one strike. In this mode the game moves into a slow mo space like environment where the zombies explode into joyful sparkles. This rewards you with a big boost in medals and gives you an elusive platinum medal.

Now Suda 51 is known for his ridiculous bosses, and I regret to inform you guys that Chainsaw Lollipop is pretty hit and miss when it comes to the bosses. Some are really cool and some are just plain annoying, especially the first boss, which for me is supposed to set the tone. This game does appeal to fan of collectibles, because this game has that in spades. We’re talking: costumes, art, mp3, zombie bios, phone calls, and just items in general. An added feature is the online. Now don’t get to excited you won’t be chopping zombies to bits with a friend, all you get is a variety of modes like, time attack, score attack, and coin collection modes where you compete for spots on an online leader board. This may be disappointing to some but I didn’t expect this game to have any online functionality so any is a plus.

Overall Lollipop chainsaw is a fun ride if you can stomach some of its flaws. It may not be worth the sixty dollar admission price that it commands now but it is an experience that I think everyone should at least check out.

6.5 out of 10

A lot of gamers these days like to bemoan the trend of games built out of set pieces and quick time events that publishers call “cinematic” and “visceral”. After playing through Lollipop Chainsaw I have to admit that this style of game direction is actually a pretty good fit for Grasshopper manufacture.

The game is a fitting collaboration between the personality of Suda 51’s games like Killer 7 or No More Heroes, and the writing of James Gunn of Dawn of the Dead (2004) fame. Typically when someone puts out one of these “cinematic experiences” with some big-name writer it translates into gameplay that feels less interactive with decent-but-typical writing on top, a good Japanese example being Ace Combat Assault Horizon. At least in the case of Chainsaw we get a sincerely entertaining “cinematic experience” out of the deal.

The latest player character to come out of Grasshopper is Juliet Starling – a high school cheerleader who was raised by zombie hunters to kill the evil supernatural. In the midst of an attempted zombie apocalypse she must do just that with a chainsaw she flings around like a broadsword and the help of the still-talking decapitated head of her boyfriend Nick.

Now when I say “cinematic experience” I’m mainly talking about relatively thin gameplay broken up by faux mechanics and QTEs with a lot of in-game banter between characters wrapped around it. When you’re using a chainsaw in either this game or Gears of War to break down a barrier, you’re performing a canned action in exactly the way the game wants you to, which removes what would be special about deciding to tear a door down with a chainsaw. But like I said, I may bemoan this in most triple-A games that do it, but it’s a good fit for Grasshopper.

At least since Killer 7, Grasshopper’s games have been mainly known for how much personality they have in their story, characters, art direction, and gameplay. Their games never have particularly deep or challenging gameplay, but in No More Heroes it still feels cool when the player gets to transform into a tiger and maul enemies to death with 8-bit sound effects in the background.

Chainsaw oozes this kind of personality from the moment you press start as the different options come up in the form of sliding comic book panels with “Cherry Bomb” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts playing in the background. That continues straight through the game’s entire user interface, its loading screens, and what have you. The whole thing manages to look different and fresh if you’re just coming off of another military shooter.

To this end, Chainsaw even makes really good use of Unreal Engine 3. After seeing this and Shadows of the Damned, Grasshopper seems to really know their way around the engine that so many blame for the grayness and brownness of modern games. Chainsaw in-game comes off as a colorful, inspired comic rendition of 80’s/90’s American high school with some 70’s horror exploitation for good measure.

The character models and environments in this slightly cel-shaded style all look great and Grasshopper even employed some decent anti-aliasing. Chainsaw is one of those games that make you think the graphics of current generation consoles don’t look quite so old yet if developers just knew how to skillfully employ some art direction.

The narrative part of how Grasshopper’s style slides into “cinematic experience” game design – James Gunn’s writing, works really well. Expectedly, the banter between Juliet and Nick forms the backbone of the game’s writing. Never mind the rarity of a video game protagonist who is in a stable relationship that stays intact throughout the game, Chainsaw’s dialogue is built on jokes that work, especially for gamers and geeks, without coming off as exploitative.

The mechanical side of Chainsaw’s personality plays like a descendant of No More Heroes’ hack n’ slash action with its own brand of weirdness. Juliet’s fighting style is based on cheerleader movements right down to the stances at the end of her combos. Her chainsaw eventually doubles as a gun and a rocket booster of sorts, which the game employs in a lot of set pieces and mini games like having to play basketball with the decapitated heads of zombies. I’ve heard difficulty complaints comparing these to the “big boner” mini game from Damned but I personally didn’t have that much trouble with them.

Between zombie baseball, zombie harvesting, QTEs, and chain sawing objects though, you eventually realize that you’re still spending most of your time slashing around in a relatively simplistic combat system, similar to a lot of shooters or in Grasshopper’s case, No More Heroes.

To Chainsaw’s credit, its fighting system does feel more challenging than that of NMH with stronger enemies and a more demanding scoring mechanic. The goal in Chainsaw’s mainline combat is to decapitate zombies with special combos to get coins with which to unlock better combos and costumes. It actually turns out to be compelling enough to encourage multiple runs through the game, if for no other reason than to unlock all Juliet’s costumes, of which there are a lot. The system still pales in comparison to titles like Bayonetta or Ninja Gaidenthough, and Chainsaw’s boss battles are frankly a cakewalk compared to the ones in NMH.

If you’re a fan of Grasshopper and Suda 51 you should already have a general idea of what to expect in Lollipop Chainsaw – a legitimately funny game with just enough gameplay to keep it going and even keep you coming back. In today’s world of cinematic games that seem to have just enough gameplay to keep them going,Chainsaw seems to fit right in and stand out at the same time.

BULLETS:

• The reason I had to do this is because I spent all my time this weekend either being out of power or finishing up Fallout: New Vegas, which I’ve already kinda talked enough about. Choppin’ down that backlog.
• Man, Funimation finally went and licensed Michiko to Hatchin – five years after it originally aired and everyone probably torrented fansubs. Hey, I’ll probably still buy their Blu-Rays and watch the dub whenever they come out. Ideally the new Toonami would grab this show and air the first ever release of the dub.
• Further on the subject of “about time”, Crunchyroll has finally announced a PS3 (and Vita and Samsung TV) app.
• So Spelunky is out on Xbox Live and I’m thinking of finally trying out the freeware PC version. Something tells me there’ll be an inevitable Steam release just like Limbo and Super Crate Box and whatnot.
• This boxed copy of Limbo for PC looks especially tempting despite the fact that I already own it on Xbox. Comes with DRM-free PC and Mac versions as well as a Steam key.

Lollipop Chainsaw casts you in the role of Juliet Starling, a Buffy the Vampire Slayeresque cheerleader – only instead of vampires and stakes, zombies are your raison d’etre and the chainsaw is your modus operandi. It’s the latest offering from Japan’s Grasshopper Manufacture – a gaming company known for original, if not twisted, video games.

Your high school – San Romero High – has been overrun by the shufflin’ brain-suckers, so business is good. As it happens, someone has breached the gap between our world and the great beyond, allowing the undead to flow into the city, led by particularly nasty bosses – including a hippie chick, a funk master and a viking on a motorcycle.

It’s Juliet’s birthday and a horde of zombies has spoiled the party. To make things worse, her boyfriend Nick has been bitten by a zombie. In an infinitely logical solution to the problem, Juliet cuts off his head and, using zombie hunter magic, seals his neck so that he is still alive. She then wears him on her belt the rest of the game.

That’s not to say that Nick is completely useless. He comes in handy when a headless zombie is found and provides help when needed.

Nick is also with Nick Roulette. Using Nick tickets, Juliet can spin the wheel and win such things as Nick Popper, a gun that shoots Nick’s head and stuns zombies .

Needless to say, nothing is taken seriously in Lollipop Chainsaw. The game is so sweet and colorfully bright that you may suffer a diabetic epileptic fit.

Gathering zombie coins lets Juliet purchase new chainsaw moves, such as the chainsaw stab, armadillo spin and the lolli-o-copter. Zombie coins can also be spent on health items, new outfits for Juliet and new MP3s for her music collection.

The game frequently detours into the absurd, with basketball and baseball levels, mystical mushroom-fueled mind trips and encounters with Juliet’s family, who also all happen to be zombie slayers. There is also a little combine driving to harvest country bumpkin zombies.

Performing multiple kills triggers “Sparkle Hunting,” with additional points for number of simultaneous kills. Along the way, Juliet acquires the Chainsaw Blaster, an attachment to her chainsaw that shoots bullets.

Lollipop Chainsaw does not offer a head-to-head multiplayer – featuring only a ranking mode with three choices – score attack, time attack, medal attack. Your scores, times or medal count for each level are ranked among worldwide leaderboards.

One section of the game departs from the norm (if any of the game can be considered that) to offer a loving tribute to old school games such as Pac-Man and Elevator Action, casting Juliet in the leading roles.

The game cheekily addresses the issue of “upskirting,” whereby players of other games have been known to adjust the angle of the camera during gameplay to peer under short skirts. If you try it in this game, Juliet coyly obstructs your view.

Lollipop Chainsaw brings the bizarre, but makes it more playable than some of the past Grasshopper Manufacture games. It is so relentlessly upbeat and colorful, offering a sharp contrast to much of videogaming today.

Platform: PlayStation3, Xbox 360

Manufacturer: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Rating: Mature

Score: 8.5 chilies

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Review Statement: An Xbox 360 retail copy of this game was provided by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the purpose of this review.

STORY

The story in Lollipop Chainsaw is a simple and bizarre one. You play as high school cheerleader Juliet who’s secretly a zombie hunter. One day as Juliet rides to school to meet up with her boyfriend, she discovers a zombie outbreak as occurred in her town. According to your Sensei, someone has opened up some kind of portal between Earth and the ‘Rotten World’. It’s up to Juliet to put an end to the outbreak, discover who opened the portal and close it. The story plays out as you’d expect and you do get to meet some crazy characters along the way. The dialogue between Juliet and her boyfriend, Nick, is a little too tongue n’ cheek for its own good, and Juliet herself can be a bit annoying at times. It isn’t until Juliet and Nick meet up with Juliet’s father, when the game has some genuine funny moments.

PRESENTATION

The presentation is by far the best thing Lollipop Chainsaw has to offer. The game has a very comic book feel to it. The character models all have thick, black outlines, the menus and hud of the game are all illustrated to look like a comic and the world itself is quite sharp and colorful. Juliet has some great animations that complement the action and the game does a good job of putting you in a variety of locals. Unfortunately, many of the environments of Lollipop Chainsaw feel empty and dull. One level of the game has you running around a swamp and it just feels barren and boring. Also prepare yourself for loading times in Lollipop Chainsaw, the game likes to do it a lot. The game loads after every cutscene, whenever you enter or exit the in game shop, and whenever you kill a boss. Granted the load times are terribly long but they break the pacing quite a bit.

GAMEPLAY

At it’s core Lollipop Chainsaw is a hack and slash brawler. Juliet can perform light attacks with her pompoms and heavy attacks with her chainsaw. You can purchase new combos from the in game shop and you unlock a few more weapons as the game progresses. The combat itself may need some getting used to though. Juliet isn’t particularly quick with her attacks, she must complete an animation before starting a new set of moves. There is a certain pacing to the combat in the game. Unfortunately Lollipop Chainsaw becomes repetitive very quickly. For most of the game you will enter an area or a room, kill a certain amount of zombies, unlock the new area, perform a quick time event to get to new area. Rinse and repeat. Lollipop Chainsaw introduces almost all of its gameplay mechanics within the first two stages and after that, the game doesn’t really evolve or change. The game does throw in some mini arcade games in stage four to freshen things up but you will be doing the same tasks through out the five hour campaign.

This doesn’t mean Lollipop Chainsaw can’t be fun though. It’s still quite exciting to tear through a massive crowd of zombies with your chainsaw, trying to pull off sparkle hunters but, the game doesn’t do this often enough. You’ll find yourself fighting around six to twelve zombies at most throughout the game. That’s it. It can get a bit boring and mundane at times. Even with all the combos the game offers you, you’ll be able to just button mash through a crowd effortlessly.

CONCLUSION

Lollipop Chainsaw has plenty of good ideas but never really dives into them. The game could have been an over the top B-movie but instead, just kind of dips it’s toe in the water. I feel like the game didn’t fully commit to the insane style of the main ideas involved. Lollipop Chainsaw still offers up some fun action if you know what you’re getting into, however, its short campaign and has little reason to play again, other than unlocking Juliet’s bikini costume. If you’re looking for crazy game with fulfilling combat, great visual flare, and tongue n’ cheek dialogue, I would recommend Suda’s last and superior game, Shadows of the Damned.

OVERALL SCORE

6.0

-Matthew Bruce 2012

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the Wii U right now and that includes Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli who recently said.
“My opinion of the Wii U is very high, it’s just that we unfortunately just didn’t have a business case that justifies us making a game for it. That doesn’t mean that CryEngine 3 doesn’t run on Wii U though. It actually runs beautifully. In fact, there actually is a game in development from a respected developer that we will be announcing. I’ve seen the game running and it looks really great.”  Yerli continued.”From my perspective I do not understand the public’s concerns that the Wii U is weaker than PS3 and 360,that I cannot see. From my perspective the Wii U is minimum as powerful as Xbox 360.”
Other big names like Akihiro Hino (Level-5), Yoshinori Ono (Capcom), Suda 51 (Grasshopper) and Keiji Inafune (Comcept) have also been hinting that they too have been impressed with Nintendo’s new console and what it’s might be capable of.

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP will be releasing to Japan tomorrow, which actually technically it is according to their time zone. The game will feature game designer Goichi Suda (Suda 51) as the voice for Logfella. It’ll release to PC, Mac, as well as iOS. Also there is a new soundtrack that features remixes of Jim Guthrie’s work. Check it out http://sworcery.jp/remix/

When the player rotates the camera in Lollipop Chainsaw to attempt to look up the protagonist’s skirt, she covers herself. Talk about confronting the player for his voyeuristic gaze.

Like much of Suda 51’s work, it’s difficult to rationally assess Lollipop Chainsaw. The sheer insanity of it slaps you in the face so unremittingly that the actual mechanics become almost an irrelevance.

For the uninitiated, Suda 51 and his development branch, Grasshopper Manufacturer, are known for some of the most striking content in the industry. Their most recent effort, Shadows of the Damned, received a mixed critical response but was embraced by the public for its utter craziness and willingness to push taste boundaries. Lollipop Chainsaw certainly seems to be striving for that same prize – subtlety being the weakest of its suits. Staying faithful to its predecessors, the game playfully straddles the line between aesthetic incomprehensibility and engaging gameplay mechanics, in the end falling short of perfection in both areas. Despite this, Lollipop Chainsaw’s relentlessness renders it a ridiculous, colourful, ironic, offensive, enjoyable and unique experience.

The expositional setup is deceptively simple. You take control of Juliet Starling, a generously proportioned chainsaw-wielding cheerleader who happens to be part of a family of zombie hunters. Also zombies attack. That’s pretty much it. Apart from members of the Starling clan and the angst-ridden antagonist, the only other major player is Juliet’s boyfriend Nick who, unfortunately, had to be decapitated (magically) by his girlfriend to stop the zombie infection spreading. He remains attached to Juliet’s waist for the rest of the game offering up some genuinely funny comments – bearing testament to the localization talent of James Gunn. By contrast Juliet is painted as somewhat of a ditz, often failing to grasp the nuance of Nick’s quips, instead bringing to the table bard-worthy dialogue such as “boy, zombie driving sucks dick.” It’s exploitation at its most abject and the size of Suda’s shield of irony is often tricky to gauge. I personally never felt it was getting too uncomfortable, as whilst the men are goggling at Juliet’s body, she’s awesomely destroying literally everything in the most epic ways possible.

At its core, Lollipop Chainsaw is a straight forward beat-em-up. The stages are linear, you’re only ever pushed in one direction and all that stands in the way of you and the climax are waves of the undead and the odd contextual quick-time event. Juliet has two key styles of attack. She can either cheerleader zombies to a state of groggy submission by waving pompoms in their face, or go at them with the heart-emblazoned chainsaw. The idea is that you stun the enemies with the former, and insta-kill them with the latter. In practice I found things didn’t quite work out this way. I usually just hacked at them with the ripping blade or occasionally drop kicked them into a state of slumber – this seemed to work equally as well. Regardless of technique, the zombies aren’t flesh bags waiting to be torn apart instantly (unless you activate Juliet’s crazy sparkle abilities); they’re aggressive and take a fair few hits to fell. It’s initially somewhat overwhelming (you are brandishing a chainsaw after all!) but once you have the combat nailed down it becomes equally as satisfying as, say, God of War. As the game progresses, Juliet gains access to a projectile weapon which also helps to mix things up.

Nick also adds some flavour to the combat. Through buying ‘Nick Tickets’, Juliet can use the guy’s head in a variety of different combat-aiding ways. The most abstract one, entitled ‘Nick Shake’, literally involves Ms Starling rattling her lover’s head so that coins and health-replenishing lollipops fall out. Another example, ‘Nick Canon’ involves Juliet shooting Nicks head of a cannon into the approaching masses. It all operates on a roulette that activates whenever a Nick Ticket is used. It adds some diversity to the game and overall Nick is as much a welcome addition to the combat as he is the narrative.

Outside of zombie-slaying, the pickings are somewhat slim. The game is littered with quick-time events but they aren’t as intrusive as expected. Often a decapitated, shiny-blue zombie body will stagger your way, allowing Juliet to plant Nick’s head on the top of it so that it will do their bidding. In the promotional trailers it looked like this may add the odd puzzle to the proceedings. In reality the only control the player has is pressing the button that pops up on screen. QTE’s also appear when cutting progression-stifling scenery down to size and specific scripted events that see Juliet bounce off many zombie heads. The chainsaw at one point gains an engine, allowing a rather subdued dash-manoeuvre to take place. Again, these events are scripted and basically involve angling Juliet into coolant cans and ramps. It’s all generally fun stuff and, despite its trivial nature, it helps to break up the flow of zombie slaughtering.

Lollipop Chainsaw really shines when it comes to design and presentation. Everything from the sparkles bursting from garrotted zombies to the comic-esque menu systems fits in well with the crazy aesthetic. The boss designs are especially mental, all being messed-up manifestations of different musical styles. Technically, it’s not pushing the hardware, but the visuals do enough to faithfully represent a grind house/ my little pony appearance. The audio is a stand-out. Most of the dialogue is hilarious (if often massively vulgar) and the sound track is something to behold. Warner Brothers have done a great job of attaining some brilliant licensed tracks, ranging from metal to the inevitable ‘Lollipop’ by Sugartime that plays over the shopping menu. Toni Basil’s ‘Hey Mickey’ also plays when Juliet enters her crazy-super-mode, adding a certain amount of whimsy to the brutal proceedings.

If I was to try and assess Lollipop Chainsaw rationally, I’d have to say it’s too short, incredibly repetitive, undeniably inappropriate and overwhelmingly stupid. It kind of is all these things, but I still love it. It’s fundamentally a fun game covered in so much well-realised crazy that you just need to keep playing. At the end of the day Juliet Starling’s unrelenting ”effed-up” sparkle stands out amidst the sea of brown that this industry has become defined by.

8/10

So I have been a rabid observer of Suda 51 for years now. Ever since the psychedelic horror that was Killer 7. I was not however a fan of his as I did not have a GameCube when it was released. I do remember the reviews and the screenshots. I thought it looked amazing. Also I recall several reviewers being torn by a love of its style and a hate of its gameplay. Then Suda decided the Wii needed the same treatment and created No More Heroes. I did at least have the opportunity to play this one. However my time with it was limited. I don’t even think I killed the second person on the list. Then came No More Heroes 2. I only witnessed a few of the 8 bit mini games. But again I poured over screenshots and gameplay videos and upon release reviews. While 3 games had come and gone bearing the alias Suda 51 I still had yet to have the opportunity to thoroughly enjoy a single one. I primarily blame this on Nintendo as I had made an unspoken agreement with them that if they put Midna in Smash Bros. I would purchase one. They did not hold up their end so I remain Wii-less to this day.

At long last Suda 51 announced a game for the Xbox 360 Shadows of the Damned. My god this game looked amazing. The art was just fantastic the story as dark as the setting (which was hell). I had decided firmly resolutely that I would purchase this game. I would no longer have to enjoy Suda’s work from afar. Everything had finally fallen into place It was on the right system, I had consistent income and what game could compete with years worths of pent-up fandom for this man’s work.

Fate is a cruel mistress.

American Mc Gee’s Alice : Madness Returns was released within a week of Shadow’s of the Damned. I don’t think I have ever had to make a harder choice about which brand new game to buy. When it comes to new I am very picky. It either has to blow me away or have a proven track record. Both of these games did both in abundance. The week before the release of Alice I made my choice. I do not own Shadows of the Damned. Another one had slipped through my grasp!

Lollipop Chainsaw gets announced. Again I promise myself the purchase. As the game gets closer and closer to release and I employ my at this point routine methodical scrutiny to the game I actually become less and less excited. The cheerleader looks dumb the gameplay looks like every hack slash I had avoided up until this point. Then a couple of things happen that seal my fate.

The cruel mistress strikes again.

A year before the game’s release a foam replica of Julliete’s chainsaw is betrothed upon me. I love it and proudly toss it in my room with the other collectible things I surround myself with. While cool I don’t think it alone could have pried my toiled for coin from me.Little did I know that Lollipop was just getting started and would soon dote so many gifts upon me that I would have to be some sort of heartless monster to ignore it.

Julliet sang a sirens song and though her form disgusted me, and the song would turn out to not be her own, her sweet music soon ensnared me in a trap from which I would never wish release. This sweet siren sang to me through the music of Jimmy Urine of Mindless Self Indulgence. First Suda makes me another game for my Xbox with the same all-star crew that he used to make Shadows of the Damned then he enlists one of my favorite bands to craft its soundtrack. Still I attempted to resist.

But fate is not only cruel she also has personal and endless resources.

This past Christmas I received the new MSI album as well as a ticket to go see them in concert. I bring the chainsaw with me as I almost jokingly hope I will get it signed. I think I just more wanted to wave it around the concert like an appropriately altered foam finger at a macabre version of a sport even where I watched superb talent compete on a world stage. The show ends and I find out that while there will be a signing it will only occur in the pit. I do not have a pit pass I prepare to leave when I notice that several people without the pass were being allowed to the signing. As I tower my chainsaw over the heads of goth teen girls all fluttering ticketmaster printouts at Mr.Urine, he grabs my chainsaw. His face lights up he smiles laughs and carves some sort of scrawling into it before returning it to me. I happily accept it back and am complimented profusely on my achievement by other MSI faithful. Again I re-affirm my belief that this game is meant to be mine thanks to my now autographed paraphernalia. Then I am nailed with a double hitter. Not only will Mr.Urine be scoring the boss fights to this game he will also be starring in the game as a boss. On top of that Juliette will be able to don a Jimmy Urine inspired outfit. Suda has gone out of his way to include as much MSI for Lollipop’s North American release as possible without changing the source material.

Surely I am doomed.

Three months later we are ever closer to the games release and as I view game trailers for lollipop I become even less enthused by my future purchase. The game play didn’t look bad the trailers simply did not meet my criteria. It did not blow me away and It certainly did not have a proven track record. I begin to once again question my commitment. I mean wasn’t most of my tether at this point to a band member and not to the game itself? Darn that mistress and her never-ending resources.  A week before the game releases I am given a veritable cornucopia of Lollipop goodies. Also 3 days before the release the financial burden is lifted from me. No choice really. After all I’m not a monster.

I enjoyed the heck out of the beginning of the game. It is impactful, funny, a little creepy, and at times almost even a little sad. The sadness comes from Nick’s incredible devotion to a girl who seems devoted more to the idea of a boyfriend rather than (what’s left of) the actual man. It’s not quite unrequited love but it shares similar tones. I feel that the combat is more than competent. It is incredibly robust I just wish there was more to use it on. The end sucks it’s not funny it’s not sad it’s just boring and predictable. With the final antagonist being some one who feels slighted by Juliette during events never before mentioned in the game. I really like Julliete. She is incredibly weird. Nick is great as well. Her family is not particularly interesting as each member  just seems to extrapolate an individual trait of Juliet taken to it’s logical albeit extreme conclusion. As I said though Nick and Juliet are great characters and they deserved a better ending than the cliché sugar happy ending they are unnecessarily shoe horned into. The story even sets up some really important questions about the importance of love devotion, how to manage prior commitments and new overbearing ones. It even touches on the helplessness of a physically disabled person who is no longer happy in a relationship. As well as the denial that can come from one partner not taking the others needs into consideration due to a never-ending support that has always been taken for granted. When I say it touches on these points I mean to say it touches them before firmly pressing both hands on these ideas and pushing them off a cliff only to laugh at them as they fall away from both the characters minds and the game’s narrative never to be seen again. This is disappointing because most will see this game as a silly game with silly characters doing silly things (like zombie killing) in silly ways (like with pom poms and rainbows). And of course they will be right, and while it is and was always going to be those things, with a well crafted ending it could have been so much more. As is, it is a fantastically executed romp through highschool pop culture and young love with a combat system that rivals and can go toe to toe with the best in fast paced combat where it finds it self in good company with the likes of DMC and Ninja Gaiden.

I enjoyed this game and will continue to enjoy it as there are many collectables and I will take any excuse to cleave my way through the zombie hordes with nick on my side. I do sincerely hope this game gets a sequel as I believe a chance at a better story could skyrocket Juliette on an even higher blood soaked rainbow of success.

And yes Jimmy’s soundtrack is great.

Source: thegamefanatics.com

Mowing down zombies with your chainsaw should be one of the funnest things about this game but it’s almost more of a hassle than anything because of the controls. The controls aren’t horrible for this game but they just miss the grade of being good. One of the main staples of combat is dodging the zombies by doing leapfrogs over their heads or jumping out of a fire breathing zombie’s range but half of the time you will just jump right into the line of fire and lose a chunk of your health. Combos are good for the most part but don’t expect to have fluid chainsaw combos right from the start, instead you have to save up gold coins to unlock those moves for later which makes the beginning of the game less satisfying but once you unlock one the feeling goes away. Also later in the game there is a gun attachment that you unlock for your chainsaw that has a terrible aim, most of the times I needed to use the gun to shoot something fast the camera would auto lock onto an enemy that I was not even looking at or sometimes the auto aim made me aim at nothing when there were enemies I was trying to shoot. There are also a number of quick time events that tend to break the immersion, a lot of times you will be in the middle of combat and if you don’t press one of the buttons that pops up a zombie will hit you and even when the button is pressed there is an awkward pause where nothing happens.  There are finishing moves where you can smash your chainsaw into a zombie and the ground or you can leapfrog over a zombie and rip them in half but these moves end up being dreadfully long and make you sit mashing one button for much longer than needed.

Sparkle Hunting is probably the best parts of killing zombies.
Source: gamezone.com

The mini games in Lollipop Chainsaw were one of the things that I found to be incredibly fun and refreshing. Remakes of classic arcade games such as Elevator, Pacman and others are found in the game which is a nice throwback. There are times in the game where you have to put your decapitated boyfriend’s head and put it onto a zombie so he can get rid of an obstacle while you cheer him on by pressing the correct buttons. There are even times that you get to mow down fields of zombies with farm machinery while “You Spin Me Round Like A Record” plays that can be a very enjoyable experience. Boss battles in the game tend to use the same formula of once you have cut them in half somehow they multiply or form back together, also all of them have the theme of playing an instrument for a rock band.

Source: shacknews.com

Despite how short the actual game is there is a lot of replayability in Lollipop Chainsaw too, with difficulties to be unlocked after beating the game and a ranked mode where you can compete online to get the best score. While Lollipop Chainsaw may not be one of the greatest brawler to be created but it is definitely one to pick up.

Lollipop Chainsaw (Xbox 360, PS3)-$59.99

Warner Bros

Grasshopper Manufacture

June 12^th, 2012

 What it is:

Lollipop Chainsaw, if nothing else, is a bold release perhaps for everyone involved. After the criminally underrated Shadows of the Damned sold a paltry 30,000 copies upon its release last year, in no small part due to the lack of proper marketing, it seems like a miracle that Suda 51 and the over the top Japanese innovators of Grasshopper Manufacture have received permission to make yet another quirky, insanely unorthodox action game. No one could honestly blame any publisher for having qualms with publishing another game in a similar vein to Garcia Hotspur’s venture, and one could likewise easily forgive the minds behind the dev team for putting out a safer kind of game in an attempt to appeal to the masses that generate the most cash. Yet here we are, with the next absolutely bonkers video game from the same crazy team, and backed by a completely different publisher who actually did properly market the material this time around (Warner Bros). Aside from the risky notion of putting another characteristically idiosyncratic title from these guys on consumer store shelves, there has been indirect controversy stemming from the game even before it came out (cosplay promoter Jessica Ngiri and her scantily clad Juliet Starling outfits causing a stir at PAX East).

The entire nature of this game has me rather befuddled, to be honest, especially since a publisher has finally decided to actually “get” the types of games these guys make, and decided to put some marketing muscle behind their promotion. It’s easy not to complain, however, because once again Grasshopper has made a game that deserves heavy promotion, and it in no way shape or form deviates from exactly what you’d expect them to make…

…A bona fide, acid-trip, rollercoaster of scathing ingenuity.

The Experience:

Lollipop Chainsaw tells a paper thin story as per usual, but those of you who appreciate Suda 51 gems should be used to this by now. It’s ditzy cheerleader Juliet Starling’s 18^th birthday, the same day in which a rampant zombie apocalypse has conveniently tainted the world at large, with widespread implications. She’s no damsel in distress, mind you; the conceit of the game simply dictates that she is a highly skilled zombie hunter, and actually comes from a family that has mastered this to an art over the course of many years. She’s more annoyed by this sudden outbreak than she is genuinely alarmed, and she immediately picks up a gigantic chainsaw and thrusts herself head-first into the fray. How could this not be good?

The first story beat Juliet finds herself addressing involves her boyfriend, Nick, who has unfortunately become a victim of circumstance. Long story short, Juliet performs a trick of what she calls “magic,” and spares Nick from turning into an undead flesh magnet, with the stipulation of rendering his head separate from his body. Also, the body is no longer anywhere to be found; all that is left of Nick is his severed head, which of course spends the duration of the game tied appropriately to Juliet’s waist.

The relationship that ensues across the game’s 6 stages closely mirrors the banter witnessed in Shadows of the Damned, which had protagonist Garcia Hotspur traipsing through the game with a human skull that went by the name of Johnson. The writing is equally clever and downright hilarious, although perhaps never quite hitting the levels of inanity that the previous pair was able to achieve. Even still, Nick becomes much more than a gameplay prop, and more than half of his conversations with Juliet and other characters are legitimately laugh worthy.

So what are you doing across these 6 previously mentioned stages, exactly? In the most simplistic terms, Lollipop Chainsaw is a score attack, combo driven action game in the category of Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. It will only take you roughly 6-7 hours to complete on Normal difficulty, but it appears to me that the bulk of the replay value is intended to be of the “high score chase” mentality, i.e. improving one’s own best scores/assessments once acquiring new upgrades and combos, and possibly competing for dominance via tracked online leaderboards. There’s no multiplayer to be had, much like Suda’s last game, and I’m glad they haven’t catered to this feature and instead remained focus on making sure they craft an entertaining single player experience.

As far as accomplishing that last goal, they have managed to succeed with flying colors, literally and figuratively. The use of bright, high contrast colorization and voluptuous neon rays of brightness are absolutely pervasive throughout Juliet’s adventures. It’s almost easy to forget that there’s a plot still buried, technically, beneath all of the batshit imagery. Some weird guy named Swan has released a bunch of zombie demons from some other world, which is the game’s version of Hell, and yadda yadda yadda you have to stop them from achieving dominance. Look, this is a zombie game, and as long as you understand that, and you’re down for that, I think I should just let you find out what’s wrapped up in here for yourself.

If I had to explain it at least in minor detail, just know that the action is frantic, the zombies are absolutely hilarious with their non sequitur dialogue, and it contains some of the most original and mind bending bits of gameplay since…well, since the last game Grasshopper made. I had zombies jump and commence attacking me while uttering prize winners such as “This is ass!” “I’m gonna fist my ass with your head!” and “Let’s take a shower together!” To list anymore would be a serious disservice from the honest-to-God laughs you will enjoy when you hear them by surprise. Whoever holds the job position for writing the zombie dialogue, along with the brilliant descriptions for characters and collectibles, seriously earned their paycheck on this one. As characters and objects are unlocked throughout the course of play, brief anecdotes and descriptions appear in the game’s user menu, and if you have a tendency to be enamored by dick jokes and overt sexual perversion and deviance, than this is the game for you. It’s campy as can be, tongue in cheek most definitely, and if you go in understanding that, then boy will you have some fun with this one. I’m ending that now, because it’s worth it to revel in the sheer shock value alone.

The actual gameplay is a concretely solid, if not the most original, series of using light and heavy pom pom cheerleader attacks mixed with the (you guessed it) ever reliable chainsaw. Zombies inexplicably drop golden coins when conquered, and Juliet automatically picks these up as she goes (think the orbs in God of War, or similar games). Upgrade equipped shopping kiosks are spread rather generously throughout the levels, and grant Juliet the ability to purchase new attacks, new passive upgrades to health, strength, resilience, etc, and in a nice little touch it also allows the user to pay with in-game currency to unlock further licensed and unlicensed soundtrack possibilities, costume skins for Juliet, and character/environment concept art. It’s nice getting unlockables from inside the game, and not being nickel and dimed via real money. This is one of many reasons that Suda and the team have my utmost respect.

Some of the boss and sub-boss encounters become a tad bit demanding, but never to the point of frustration. If anything, the sometimes loose character control and odd camera angles are easily forgiven by the sheer creativity implemented in building the game’s levels. Especially worth noting are the off the wall mini-game encounters, some of which in one level in particular hearken back to a day when arcades ruled the video game world. There are plenty of zombies to decapitate in a rainbow of neon colors mixed with showers of blood, but there’s also a bevy of nods to games such as Pacman, Pong, 2D MetroidVania games, and other classics going back as far as the Atari and Commodore 64 days. This type of stuff was featured in Shadows of the Damned, but it seems that the devs didn’t get this stuff out of their system and completely went for it without shame in this latest release. It also has a few scenarios that seem to be borrowing from last year’s Saints Row: The Third, since there is a boss that resembles former Pro Wrestler Papa Shango, only he’s adorned with a diaper and speaking exclusively in auto-tune. I can’t make this stuff up; I wasn’t kidding when I stated these guys weren’t straying from their typical M.O.

Some of the mini games and encounters are not only outstanding and memorable for their wacky dialogue and references, but also because they incorporate some downright innovative takes on gameplay and mechanics on their own grounds. There’s twists on sports like basketball and baseball, pseudo-tower defense tasks, vehicle sections that focus more on action and mayhem rather than unwieldy controls, and QTE sequences that are actually fun, fair, and so incredibly nuts that you may finally realize why you’ve always hated QTE’s in the past: no one has done them quite like Grasshopper Manufacture.

Some may question the blatant, overt sexualization of the Juliet Starling character (she’s always seductively sucking on lollipops, which she also collects as a form of health in the environment) and become offended by some bosses incessantly calling her things like “fucking bitch” and “vanilla slut,” and it doesn’t help that there’s an achievement/trophy for sneaking an up-skirt view of her lady parts by tilting the third person camera ever so specifically. As I prefaced earlier, I think there’s an understanding that one needs to take in with them before playing this game, and as long as the attitude going in doesn’t seek to take it too seriously, I don’t think it’s an issue. After all, Juliet is the star of the show, and she’s pretty badass too, and she makes anyone and everyone who may oppose her eat their hearts out, at some point down the line. Also, the game itself doesn’t take itself seriously whatsoever, so there’s that.

There’s a heavy film grain effect on the graphical presentation one may notice upon immediately starting the game, and I wasn’t really expecting this, personally, but it never soured me on the visuals as it were. This is a very bright, colorfully vibrant and animation busy type of game, and they manage to sustain a solid frame rate despite the mostly impressive number of antagonists on screen and the overall hectic nature of the frame cluttered action and combat. Users are graded at the completion of each stage, just like other games at the head of the genre, and the game is chock full of things to find, kill, and juggle in order to make that end score/grade that much better. In general, the game is just a blast to play, and I never once struggled with a single scenario in which I felt it was the game’s fault; if anything, some sections are just a bit tricky and merely require the player to suck it up and go at the objectives with a balls to the wall approach, and in my experience this just about got me through whatever I was temporarily stuck on each and every time.

My only complaints with Lollipop Chainsaw are some bizarre mid-mission objectives (such as saving other survivors, Dead Rising style) that have a set number of occurrences per stage, but if one fails to complete them all and wants to attempt the few they missed, it’s hard to get back and just knock the rest out without starting the stage over from scratch. It also doesn’t help that this sort of statistic isn’t even tracked elsewhere other than the mid-mission updates, so if you’re an achievement whore you could be kicking yourself in irritation at least a few times here and there. Moreover, and this is an odd, very minor complaint, but the fact that this game sticks out so much for its brevity. As I said before, the overall length is nothing surprising for the average game these days, and replaying the levels for higher scores is what I assume is the intent, but I still felt like a few more stages could have been thrown in (there’s a prologue, 5 normal stages, and a brief boss stage at the end). I’d gladly pay for this content if it is provided via DLC, but for the purpose of the initial $60, I think this game is too awesome to end so soon. That’s not me saying I don’t feel I got my money’s worth, I’m just saying that I wish I was still playing new levels and having as much fun as I did for the first time as opposed to grinding out the ones I’ve already seen.

Featuring some of the most eye grabbing visuals in a game of its style that you’re sure to find, a robust, solid combo driven fighting system, enemy variety, hilarious writing and jokes, zany characters and ridiculous back-story, not to mention some of the most memorable and creative boss fights seen in recent memory, Lollipop Chainsaw is a damn enjoyable adventure. I’d like to believe this sucker sells just a tad more than 30,000 some copies and I hope everyone gets a chance to play it at some point regardless.

Yeah, they made a game that made me open my eyes even wider than a game which featured a human head called Johnson and a Spanish man killing robots with a gun called Boner while screaming “Taste my big boner!” If you, like me, have a soft spot in your heart for Suda 51 and Grasshopper’s previous work, and/or games with tongue in cheek, risky takes on sense of humor in general, than Lollipop Chainsaw is a game that you need to unwrap.

I’m sorry; I had to make a bad joke/pun to conclude this, that way all of the ridiculous shit in this game will make you keel over that much more in comparison.

Final Score: 9.0

9.0-9.5:  “Phenomenal” Not every game can be an instant classic, but many games manage to push the envelope far enough that they are just an eyelash shy. This game may have a few minor issues that are worth pointing out and may irritate some people, but the pros easily overshadow the cons and make this a game that most can expect to enjoy regardless.

GT