Lollipop Chainsaw
Producer: Warner Brothers
Release Date: May 15, 2012
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360
Rating: Mature
Genre: Action-Adventure
Sticky Sweet
Written by Jesse Seilhan
Following a developer from game to game can often lead to fulfilling gameplay experiences. Whether it’s the next big RPG from Square or Capcom’s latest fighting game franchise, certain developers and producers offer a unique touch to their products that generates buzz and attention most games do not. With Goichi Suda (aka Suda51), you have a producer with the touch of the insane, often giving gamers a blend of straight-forward action, far out narratives, memorable characters, and jaw-dropping finales. Lollipop Chainsaw is no different. It has one of the most ridiculous plots in recent memory and anyone brave enough to dive into the crazy world that Suda has created will be met with dozens of dick jokes, over-the-top bosses, and more zombies than a Friday night at Coachella.
You play as Juliet Starling, who awakes on her 18th birthday to find that her town has been overrun by the undead. Her family of zombie hunters is tasked to thwart a demonic plan to resurrect legendary evils headed up by an emo highschool kid. Her boyfriend Nick has been bitten by a zombie and the only way to save him was a quick decapitation, followed up by a quick chaining to Juliet’s rump in order to provide hilarious dialogue and puzzle-solving for the next six-to-eight hours. This includes lines like “neck fart” and “dickmuffin,” stuff you just don’t find in the average game. There are a series of insane, over-the-top bosses that rival just about anything else in gaming, save for maybe the Serious Sam franchise. The references to various classic games is a staple of Suda51 products, but none are as obvious as they are in this game with playable versions of Pac Man and Elevator Actionthrown in halfway through the campaign. The soundtrack is handpicked (and also features) Jimmy Urine from Mindless Self Indulgence, who gets a shout out in some of the dialogue.
While not as good as the previous Grasshopper outputs, it does rival Shadows of the Damned in terms of zany writing and ridiculous circumstances. What it lacks, however, is the meat that makes up a filling gameplay experience and instead hopes that sugar and sparkles will suffice. The combat is quick and effective, but shallow and easily exploited. The levels are extremely narrow and linear, offering no sign of where checkpoints are or where you may start if you choose to revert back to one. For the love of god, don’t quit a level midway through because the shock of having to start it all over will keep you from going any further. The over-sexualized main character is less interesting than her bust, but the supporting characters and random one-liners will draw some guffaws before the game’s end. This is a fun game and provides some quality yucks, yet fails to do some standard things all games should do by 2012. Pick it up if you love Suda’s prior work or if you need a break from the bro-heavy shooters, but stay away if you just want to look up Juliet’s skirt because after that cheap thrill, you may not find anything else quite so appealing.