Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture
Publisher: Kadokawa Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Platform: PS3, 360
Lollipop Chainsaw – Review
Lollipop Chainsaw is a game released by WB Games for PS3 and XBOX 360. You get to live the adventures of a really cheerful cheerleader who happens to be a… zombie hunter. Will this not-so-common combination be a success?
Story:
You play as Juliet, a cheerful cheerleader, who is getting ready to see her boyfriend Nick. As expected she’s running late because she was pondering about the fact Nick would see her family for the first time. Juliet was pondering not because of the normal awkwardness this situation creates but the fact her family has special ‘hobbies’, namely Juliet is part of a family of zombie hunters. (of which Nick is unaware)
As stated before Juliet is going to meet her boyfriend, but for some reason there are zombies everywhere. For her to get to Nick she has to get through a decent amount of zombies first, while wondering if he is actually ok. After clearing the first stage you meet up with Nick, who gets bitten by a zombie trying to protect you. Of course everyone knows what to do then… Nick gets decapitated by Juliet and gets his head invoked by magic to keep him alive. (I sense a missed calling for a doctor here.) And this is also where the real stages start.
The main story is pretty much that a gateway to a dimension called the Rotten world has been opened and that it influences our earth as we know it. Juliet (and her family) is in charge of making everything right. Also, we will see Nick getting introduced to Juliet’s family. (at least his head)
Graphics:
The graphics of Lollipop Chainsaw aren’t from the top shelve but they sure look appealing. The game shows you a zombie-infested earth through the eyes of a very naive zombie hunter cheerleader. There is enough variety between the different types of zombies and they look amusing. The effects and environment also look decently made. The game looks ok, period.
Sound:
The soundtrack of Lollipop Chainsaw was a pure delight. The game has music for every situation and even the menu//option themes are fun to listen to. The voice acting and SFX were pretty awesome to listen to as well. When it comes to the sound of the game it is pretty easy to say – job well done.
note: the game offers you a way to buy the soundtrack in-game to listen to it when not playing levels.
Gameplay:
Lollipop Chainsaw is as ‘hack and slash’ as can be. You pretty much cut your way through zombies to reach the boss of the stages you play through. Pretty straightforward stuff here. The combat sometimes turns into ‘press the right button’ scenes or activities. It’s fun to do something different from time to time, but personally, I still think those ‘press the right button’ moments are the most horrible thing ever invented in gaming, except for Guitar Hero or other music games that is. My whining aside, it doesn’t happen at that many key moments (except for some cutscenes) and in some cases, if you mess up you can still set things right without any consequences.
You start the game with pretty basic attacks and dodges (chainsaw, hand-to-hand, kicking, …), but as the game progresses and you earn money by killing zombies you will be able to buy upgrades at shops. These upgrades are health upgrades, strength, attacks, … When you have enough money or special tokens you can also buy other goodies like MP3s, costumes, etc. A welcome bonus!
The duration of the game sadly is very short. If you don’t like to look in the few hidden corners you can finish the game in only 5-6 hours. The game however offers you a ranking mode in which you can replay stages to get on a ranking list, a fun extra but it will not keep the casual players occupied for that long. What will keep players replaying the game is unlocking all combos and extra goodies.
Note: You will be able to let Nick perform several actions like earning money for you, doing special attacks, and opening certain areas for Juliet when in possession of a zombie body.
Even though the overall time to finish the game is only roughly about 6 hours the game still provides us with loads of arcade fun and a decent amount of humor. (and more for the guys!) The game creates its own replay value with the fun unlockables and will surely be one of those games you’ll pick up again later to play through again.
Lollipop Chainsaw - Review,
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