IHC Game Reviews: Lollipop Chainsaw

Can bright colors and scantily clad cheerleaders fighting zombies a good game make? Hit the jump and find out!

Ok, so aside from the obvious reason, I was interested in Lollipop Chainsaw because of the names attached to it. The two names that caught my attention were Suda51 and James Gunn. Gunn wrote one of my favorite discount book finds called “The Toy Collector” as well as worked with Zombie Me/Destination Creation and created his own series called PG Porn.

The best way to describe this game is how I initially mentioned it via my Facebook wall after finishing the main story mode.

“Lollipop Chainsaw is ok. I definitely got what I expected. It’s got a liitle slop in the controls. Plot is rather thin, think Buffy without the Whedon.”

Pretty much nailed it with just a brief statement. The game centers around Juliet Starling on the day of her 18th Birthday. Her family, a group of monster hunters, have sent young Juliet off to school in order to prepare for her big party. Juliet is off to meet her one true love Nick when all undead hell breaks loose. Your job is to save the town, nay the WORLD from total annihilation at the hands one severely emo teenager named Swan.

One thing I disliked was the use of patterned button sequences that are primary parts to the main story and how if you miss one button, you go all the way back to the last check point to fight your way back to thatPaRappa The Rapper moment. I hate the sequences like that in EVERY game, to me it’s just sloppy design/story telling. Especially in a game that relies on rapid button mashing to build insane combos. Trying to get a gamer to switch gears from ferociously and franticly tapping random buttons, to getting them to do a slow timed pattern (that constantly changes) is just asking for a flood of returned discs.

The beginning few levels are kind of tiresome since you don’t get any good combos till later into the game. Even then you feel like you’ve done the levels before, since there isn’t much diversity in the stage construction.

Gameplay is pretty standard, if you have ever played a hack and slash game then this one falls in line with most of them. It just got tiring to fight the same zombies over and over. Plus some of the bosses are incredibly annoying to beat, each one takes 3 different kill sequences. Each time you had to re-beat a boss, it felt like a huge slap in the face.

A lot of the dialog seemed forced too, like I just didn’t feel drawn in by this game. Sure there were a few shining moments in conversations or exclimations…. such as “What The Dick!?” and “The zombies drive like dick!”

I also beat this game in just under 4 hours, (over the course of two days) and for 60 bucks that seems a tad bit light. I guess I am just use to getting a full figured game for my money and not some rail thin waif.

On the positive side of things, 1: Juliet is rendered with some great pixels and 2: The soundtrack is pretty badass. If I take nothing else away from this game, it’ll be the great music that they compiled. I want to track down the soundtrack, or make it myself if I have to.

Don’t buy this one, Gamefly it or rent it. I am seriously considering returning it before the value drops. 2/5

Via