Lollipop Chainsaw Preview

I've always wanted a bedazzled chainsaw.

What would you do if the goth kid sitting in the back of the class was a warlock, capable of not only killing anyone and everyone in your class, but also turn them into flesh-hungry, infectious zombies? Now, take that answer, and remember you're the youngest in a family trained for—and given the task of—hunting said zombies. What would you do? Damn right, you'd get a chainsaw decked out with shiny pink hearts and start hunting!



And that's how the Lollipop Chainsaw starts turning. You're a cheerleader in one of the tightest outfits I've ever seen (even from the novelty sexy outfit shops) with what looks like a self-shiny-ed saw, super-strong and ready to dole out punishment on your undead former classmates. If you thought zombie games had to be serious, angry, lacking in social graces, then Lollipop Chainsaw is your eye-opener.

From the hero Juliet's super-strength, to her zombie-hunting family, to the massive amounts of sparkles, and even to the boyfriend's head bumping off her ass, publisher Warner wanted to let the famous (infamous?) master Suda 51 join forces with writer James Gunn (from classics like Slither and the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead) do their thing with as little interruption and outside input as possible. What comes from that plan is a game filled with details and moments of "WTF, was going on in their heads" that we need in games nowadays… and rainbows. Lots of pretty rainbows.



The actual gameplay is solid so far, with special attacks to come (the only "special" I could use was a flying butt strike similar to Aska in TMNT: Tournament Fighters for SNES) and the charged invincibility mode called "Rainbow Mode" which, in true "whaaaaaaa?" mode, was set to "Mickey" by Tony Basil. The songs are a mix of licensed music and original tunes by Jimmy Urine of the band Mindless Self Indulgence, with the originals being boss battle tunes. Who wouldn't want to start a mega-violent zombie game listening to "Cherry Bomb" and earning a "Sparkle Hunting" bonus for decapping multiple baddies at once?

Medals to purchase upgrades coming by mass decapitations? Using the chainsaw as a shotgun, like the Gunblade from FF8? Cutting a bad guy in half from the groin up and a rainbow appear from the blood spatter? And talent like Linda Cardellini and Michael Rosenbaum doing voice work? June 12th can't get here fast enough! I'm off to get the glitter and fake blood for the party!