Save the City from Zombies as Juliet Starling

Lollipop Chainsaw Review

This review will not have a video review for fear of offending the audience. Read this article with caution, there are no spoilers, but please do not send e-mails telling me that you had not been warned. I censored this as much as possible.

                From studio Suda 51 comes his first HD game for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.  Is this fast action zombie slaying game a home-run or is it a huge let down?

                In story mode you control Juliet Starling, a normal 18-year old cheerleader, who happens to be a zombie hunter.  You are accompanied by your recently decapitated boyfriend who helps you defeat football jockeys, cheerleaders, and punk rock wannabies.  During the story you learn that a student has opened up a portal to Rotten World and will soon take over the whole world.  It is up to Juliet, Nick (her boyfriend), and Juliet’s family to save the day.

                The gameplay plays out like most hack-n-slash games.  You run to one point in the level and cannot pass until all enemies are defeated in that area.  The game may look similar to God or War, Devil May Cry, or Bayonetta, but it plays much differently. 

To kill zombies Juliet must first weaken them with her light pom-pom attacks, and then finish them with a heavy chainsaw attack.  Every time a zombie is killed Juliet will be awarded gold coins to purchase items.  If Juliet can decapitate three or more zombies she is awarded bonus money and a set number of Platinum Coins for the skilled kill.  There is a super meter that will grant Juliet super strength for a small period of time. This feature is almost useless as I often forgot it was even available for use.

The dialog between Nick and Juliet almost always had me laughing as they do it so well.  Tara Strong gives a great performance as Juliet. If you don’t know Tara, she has played characters such as Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls, Raven from Teen Titans, Ben Tennyson from Ben 10, and Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

                The game also has many mini-games to break up the repetitive action.  Juliet’s chainsaw gains new abilities as the game progresses.  She can shoot bullets out of it and use Nick’s head as a projectile.  There are several quick-time events in levels and sports themed games, such as Zombie Basketball.

                Scattered through every level are shops to acquire upgrades.  These range from buying new attacks, upgrading Juliet’s strength, buying in-game music, or costumes.  Gold Coins will buy skills, while Platinum Coins buy costumes, music, and concept art.

                The soundtrack for this game is filled with licensed music, from Julius Dixson’s “Lollipop” to Sleigh Bells’ “Riot Rhythm” and even Skillex.  The original score for the game is nowhere near as good as the official music.  The good part is that the game lets you program what six songs you would like to play during your run through a level, with the exception of music in scripted sequences. 

                There are many problems with this game. First off, the difficulty is way too easy, even on hard mode.  The only thing that gets more difficult is that all of the enemies will spam the same move at the same time, so that while you are recovering, you will still get hit by another enemy.  The bosses are also a joke, but they are still fun to fight.  The lock-on system is also terrible.

                The beginning of the game is very boring.  The game does not become enjoyable until you unlock several combo moves which can kill zombies quicker than just using the light and heavy attacks.  The beginning was so boring that I replayed the first two levels several times to unlock these good combos so that I would not be bored with the rest of the game.

                The game relies heavily on pop-culture, but I did sometimes feel offended as they made a joke about the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers.  Also, some of the jokes feel forced and not played through very well.

                I know this game is obviously made for a specific audience, but the game keeps reminding you that you are playing as an “attractive” female.  The cutscenes constantly show an upskirt shot or show maximum cleavage.  You know it gets ridiculous when there is an achievement for looking up Juliet’s skirt for ten seconds.  It just comes off as cliché.

                This game is not for everyone.  If you are easily offended by sexy cheerleaders, cursing, and killing zombies, this game is not for you.  If you have a good sense of humor, like pop culture references, and like the costumes from the popular anime High School of the Dead, then this game is for you. I give Lollipop Chainsaw for the Xbox 360, a 7 out of 10.  As a last note, I got all of the achievements in a week, and haven’t played the game since, so let that factor into your decision of purchasing or renting this game or skipping it all together.