![]() Perhaps it was when I realised my zombie chainsawing game's soundtrack included ‘The Human League' or that as shallow as she initially appeared, Juliet Starling was a surprisingly well rounded female leading character with a healthy relationship with her family and boyfriend. I am not sure was it when the usual gory graphics started to occasionally being replaced by rainbow sprays of colour or when I discovered my super powered mode had ‘Hey Mickey' as its theme. In all honesty, my first impression was pretty spot on but as I played my opinions of the game gradually changed. Its narrative may be utter pulp fiction, but like Hollywood’s Sucker Punch, Sin City and From Dusk Til Dawn, it could still prove unashamedly entertaining just don’t expect any deep and meaningful existential philosophising as to why those zombies have bombs attached to them.My first impressions of Lollipop Chainsaw was that it was one of the most generic hack and slash games out there, only separated from the herd by the intense sexploitation of its leading female character. From a positive perspective (ignoring the unnecessary upskirt shots, which leave a sour taste), Lollipop Chainsaw is looking like a madcap arcade brawler set against a backdrop of rock & roll zombie teenage angst and covered with a bubblegum sheen. As should be abundantly evident, this is a game that eschews subtly in favour of style and, at this stage, I’d question the longer-term appeal of the linear levels and limited chainsaw unlocks, which could ultimately reveal Lollipop Chainsaw to be every bit the shallow experience that it initially appears. In a bid to reach a wider fanbase, Lollipop Chainsaw has offbeat writer and film-maker James Gunn provide the narrative direction and scripting to tie together Suda51’s trademark stylised action. While past Grasshopper titles have generally received positive reviews, they haven't ever appealed to a very wide market. ![]() One standard, mystical incantation later and Nick’s cognisant head is hung at Juliet’s hip, providing a running commentary on her fight with hell’s minions and uttering the majority of the game’s expletives as he struggles to get to grips with both his new life-situation and the knowledge that his butter-wouldn’t-melt girlfriend eviscerates zombies for kicks. Further setting Juliet apart from the crowd is her boyfriend, Nick, who has to undergo a quick and not-so-painless medicinal decapitation at the hands of his beloved after he has a chunk taken out of him by a hungry zombie. ![]() An 18-year-old high-school cheerleader with a solid 3.4 grade point average, a taste for candy lollipops and a fixation on her weight, she just happens to hail from a family that vanquishes the undead. Instead, the chainsaw is Juliet’s signature accessory of death, fulfilling a role similar to that of the katana wielded by Kill Bill’s The Bride: iconic, stylish and deadly, it's an extension of its wielder.īut if the chainsaw is the angry and ugly member of the duo, Juliet is the sweetness and light. The chainsaw progresses along a linear path of evolution and gains the ability to fire projectiles, while the move-set expands to include new attacks and combos, but with just one primary weapon at her disposal Juliet’s combat options are unlikely to match the depths of Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. There’s a nod to her role as cheerleader of the San Romero Knights in the form of weaker attacks with pom-poms, kicks, flicks and acrobatic evades, but these are primarily intended to corral zombies into a group and expose them to the business end of Juliet’s motorised death-dealer. It is key.” Indeed, the chainsaw is Juliet’s primary method of zombie-felling for the entire game. As for the chainsaw, he didn’t feel that a zombie game has ever really focused on a chainsaw to this extent. “He's never done a female lead before the last real, strong, new female that we saw in games was quite some time ago and it’s a challenging thing and doesn’t happen a lot, so we really embrace that. ![]() “That’s definitely all Suda, he was very focused on both a female lead and on the chainsaw,” explains Warr with a smile. Lollipop Chainsaw’s juxtaposition of a putrefied, lewd, rock & roll-obsessed horde with the bright-eyed optimism and taut form of youth personified can be attributed to this one man. ![]() He has has opened the Pandora’s Box of his imagination once more and unleashed upon us a multitude of rainbows, star jumps and decapitation at the hands of an unashamedly over-the-top female protagonist. Of greater interest is that this tomfoolery comes courtesy of the mind that brought us cult titles Killer 7 and No More Heroes: Goichi Suda. ![]()
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