Lollipop Chainsaw

UPC: 883929218165

Platform: PlayStation 3

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture Inc.

Category: Action

Style(s): Third-Person 3D Action

Synopsis: Juliet Starling is an athletic, attractive, high school cheerleader, who spends her 18th birthday hack-and-slashing through writhing throngs of hungry zombies. She is the hero of Lollipop Chainsaw, a post-modern horror-action game from Suda51 and his Grasshopper Manufacture. Echoed by the juxtaposition in its title, the game combines two disparate libertine attractions: a firm-fleshed young woman in graceful motion and the gas-powered massacre of splatter-y undead mobs. Juliet acrobatically outmaneuvers attackers, and fights back with her oversized chainsaw blade. Often outnumbered, Juliet's cheerleading skills allow her to leap about and kick foes into place, setting up gratifyingly gory finishing moves that cut down the whole gang. Her now-zombified classmates remain organized by social groups, and Juliet must defeat increasingly difficult rock & roll-themed cliques of zombie teens as she progresses through the adventure. Not completely alone in this endeavor, she travels with her boyfriend, Nick -- or, Nick's chatty severed head, at least -- to provide supernatural assistance and foul-mouthed comic relief. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Package Contents: 6-page Instruction Manual

Controls: Joystick/Gamepad

Lollipop Chainsaw is the craziest, most bizarrely crafted game likely to be released in 2012. The basics are nothing new -- at its core is a fairly standard beat-'em-up in the tradition of Double Dragon or Streets of Rage -- but its delivery is so off-the-wall and incoherent you can't help but keep playing to see what idiotic thing happens next. The game has you playing as a lollipop-licking, chainsaw-carrying cheerleader who you can dress up in increasingly revealing outfits. As you might have expected from the title, the game isn't exactly highbrow entertainment. After protagonist Juliet Starling's birthday is threatened by a suspicious zombie outbreak, she grabs her chainsaw and begins a mission to take her town back. The action consists of well-choreographed fight sequences, relying on simple two-button combos that alternate between chainsaw slicing and pom-pom bashing. In between the pummeling you can perform some acrobatic maneuvers, such as hurdling over the heads of your undead opponents, but this is not a complicated game to control. Once you slice and dice the requisite number of zombies, you'll advance to the next room or area and repeat the process. In between fight sequences are short quick-time events and mini-games, such as using the analog stick to guide your chainsaw in specific motions or tapping buttons to avoid getting hit. As you defeat enemies, you'll earn medals that can be used to purchase new moves, music, concept art, and costumes at vendor machines located at specific spots throughout each level. Juliet's chainsaw will also receive automatic upgrades at various points during the game, allowing her to zip across certain stages as if she were riding a skateboard or shoot down enemies from a first-person viewpoint. While these were likely added to give the game some diversity, the controls aren't handled particularly well. Juliet is accompanied throughout her travels by her boyfriend, Nick, who happens to be a disembodied head after a zombie mishap early in the game. Juliet wears Nick around her waist, and he'll offer some choice comments at times in a deadpan delivery. What makes Lollipop Chainsaw so off-kilter is its distinctive sense of humor, which relies heavily, almost entirely on a Tourette's-like use of obscenities, spewed out by enemies and boss characters alike. At times it will make you cringe and wince, while other times you'll chuckle and grin. As long as you don't take the game seriously, Lollipop Chainsaw can be entertaining. On the other hand, there's no co-op support, the mini-games seem to be thrown in without much care or thought, and the overall content is a bit skimpy for a game that's not a budget release. The heroine isn't exactly a step forward for women in video games, either, as she's designed more for leering than for cheering. What will ultimately make or break the M-rated Lollipop Chainsaw for gamers is the nonsensical dialogue, over-the-top boss fights, and comic book sense of style. Lollipop Chainsaw is hardly a great game, but it can be a funny one if you are of the right mindset. ~ All Game Guide

the game requires Joystick/Gamepad.