It’s not easy being 18. You gotta balance out your rose-colored high school life with the strict-but-offbeat regimen that is your home life. On top of that, your boyfriend has just become a severed head, kept alive with a special strain of voodoo-esque witchcraft. To make matters worse, the town is overrun by zombies, who’ve eaten the brains of the majority of your friends. Still, you find solace in the fact that you come from a historical bloodline of zombie hunters, and your immediate family’s totally got your back. Equipped with a chainsaw (complete with cellphone attachment), you take to the streets to save your one true love – even if he does spend most of his time complaining.

“I hate Mondays.”

If you just did a frantic backflip out of your chair, congrats, you will enjoy this tonally confused masterpiece. If, instead, you managed to grimace and wonder exactly why anyone would want to assemble the components that compose the preceding paragraph, then you might as well stop reading here. Lollipop Chainsaw is sadly, not for you. Go to the kitchen and make yourself a piece of plain toast instead.

Now, I admit: I’m totally partial to this game, and was waiting with anticipation for its release, both for personal reasons and for writing this Lollipop Chainsaw review. I knew exactly what I was getting into, and because of it, not only was I left satisfied, but my expectations were surpassed.

Mainly because I knew to turn a blind eye to the gameplay.

See, Suda 51 is the type of guy whom you either get, or you don’t. His games all bear the stamp of being irreverent, original, and laugh-out-loud absurd. Naturally, the strangely effusive amount of hype this game garnered had managed to place presentation at the forefront of its advertising. What lurked in the background, however – the gameplay – is best taken with a grain of salt.

Now, that’s not to say that Lollipop Chainsaw is bad as a game, mind you, but it’s just got a forgettable gameplay experience. The game itself isn’t forgettable – it’s just that it carries the same flighty hack-and-slash motif that we’ve been dealt every year since Devil May Cry.

You move from room to room, partake in the occasional minigame, and basically clear out hordes of zombies with your mildly versatile chainsaw. Along the way, you pick up new moves, and health upgrades, and at the end of the level, you go mano-a-mano in intrinsically interesting but particularly easy boss battles.

It plays like (and mostly evokes) No More Heroes – its graphic style almost entirely lifted from its port to PS3. It boasts one of the most bright and colorful palettes seen in the last decade, and it’s a nice break from the today’s average title that’s laden with a dreary 69 shades of gray. Lollipop Chainsaw definitely looks nice, but it’s worth mentioning that the presentation itself lacks polish. The character models don’t emote very well (which is a pity, considering the dialogue is some of the best we’ve heard in a long time) and the physics engine is distractedly awkward during certain cutscenes.

Continue reading the Lollipop Chainsaw review, and get the verdict after the jump…

M for Mature:

Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language

Yell! Rating (x/5 Skulls):

3 out of 5 stars

Published by:

Warner Bros. Interactive

Developed by:

Grasshopper Manufacture

Year Released:

June 12, 2012

Also Available On:

Xbox 360

Genre:

Action

Official URL:

Lollipop Chainsaw Official Site

It’s time to hack and slash! So pick up your copy today, or just rent it for your local video store. Expect Yell! Magazine to bring you a full review on Lollipop Chainsaw in the upcoming days.

The Story

Lollipop Chainsaw is the ‘un-deadly’ story of sweet but killer zombie-hunter Juliet Starling and her quest to uncover the root of a colossal zombie outbreak. With her wickedly awesome chainsaw in hand, Juliet slices, dices and splits her way through hordes of the undead, but soon realises the horde is only the opening act to a festival of zombie rock lords determined to kill the chainsaw-wielding cheerleader.

Tomb Raider

No more pre-rendered cinemas, we finally get a real glimpse at the gameplay for Lara Croft’s most recent attempt to regain her relevance in the eyes of gamers. Basic survival appears to be the name of the game.

Metal Gear: Revengeance

Lack of Snake, effeminate lead character and English language butchering title aside, the Metal Gear franchise’s first foray into most Devil May Cry-type action-heavy gameplay seems to be coming along nicely.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2

Speaking of franchises struggling to maintain relevance, 2010’s Castlevania reboot, with input from Metal Gear mastermind Hideo Kojima was a valiant if flawed attempt to shine the spotlight on what was once one of gaming’s premier series. While this trailer for the sequel is admittedly amazing, I’ll withhold judgment until I see the actual gameplay.

Lord of the Rings: Guardians of Middle Earth

Well, Tolkien’s characters have taken part in every type of video game genre under the sun. From RPGs to MMORPGS to real-time strategy… Gandalf and company have done it all! Oh wait, here comes Guardians Of Middle-Earth, a DOTA-style online arena game. OK, now they’ve done it all. Unless they’re making a first-person bow-and-arrow shooter starring Legolas? Get on it, devs!

Lollipop Chainsaw

Zombie-killing cheerleaders with chainsaws? Why is it nobody ever thought of putting these things together in a video game before?? SOLD!!!!

Dishonored

Coming off as the bastard child of Bioshock and Assassins Creed, Dishonored blends a Victorian-era setting with steampunk aesthetics. Bethesda promises that the game will deliver stealthy gameplay and enough political backstabbing to make Game Of Thrones blush in envy. Dishonored is a game that’s still a bit under the radar. I’m taking a wait and see approach with this one.

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Let’s ignore the fancy title and call this game what it truly is: the follow-up to the popular Mortal Kombat vs. DC fighting game… minus the MK part. Injustice is all about the greatest DC characters brawling their little hearts out. Personally, I’m a little turned off by the fact that all the characters presented in the trailer are from DC’s New 52 era. Blah!

E3 2012's Most Anticipated Games

LOLLIPOP CHAINSAW will be out on June 15, 2012 for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) and Xbox 360 video game consoles. Enjoy!

Source: Classic Game Room

About Lollipop Chainsaw

Lollipop Chainsaw is the ‘un-deadly’ story of sweet and killer zombie hunter Juliet Starling and her quest to uncover the root of a colossal zombie outbreak. With her wickedly awesome chainsaw in hand, Juliet slices, dices and splits her way through hordes of the undead, but soon realizes the horde is only the opening act to a festival of zombie rock lords determined to kill the chainsaw wielding cheerleader.

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection

Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima announced on Twitter last week that the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection that came out last November on the PS3 and Xbox 360 would get a release on the PlayStation Vita. The high-definition re-releases of Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 on the PS Vita will use some of the handhelds touch controls. Don’t expect this at launch, but it should be out sometime this year.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

For all you PC users still neck deep into the world of Skyrim, Bethesda released the Official High Resolution Texture Pack for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The 3.1GB it will take to download the Skyrim Creation Kit and the texture pack on will be well worth it. Now with the added Steam community tools, you’ll soon be able to download a great number of player-created mods. A prettier Skyrim awaits you, adventurer.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

The year of Duty continues. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s February Map Pack is coming soon. The Overwatch map based on New York rooftops 70 stories up sounds like a falling death waiting to happen. Get ready for a firefight on top of a skyscraper on February 21st. Keep in mind, you need to be a Call of Duty: Elite member to get first crack at the new maps.

In related news, Activision released new user data. Call of Duty is now 40 million players strong. A big chunk of that coming from that the latest release. The Elite service isn’t doing so bad as well, boasting 7 million users, with 1.5 million of them being annual members. In January alone, the top three games played on Xbox Live all had Call of Duty in the title, and their older CoD games like World at War and CoD 4 still made the top 20 with 5 million active users. With these favorable numbers, Activision is hard at work making a follow-up to the Call of Duty: Elite service. Expect a new service with the launch of the next Call of Duty game this year.

Amir Hekmati

The Washing Post reports that game developer Amir Hekmati was sentenced to death in Iran for allegedly spying on the country for the CIA. Hekmati and his family are now asking the Obama administration to do whatever it takes to save him. He was sentenced on January 10th, and had 20 days to appeal his sentence. However, it hasn’t been carried out yet. Current speculation is that the Iranian government is keeping him alive in order to get the U.S. to agree to a prisoner transfer. Hekmati was clearly in the wrong place at the wrong time, and is now being used as a pawn to further Iran’s goals. I could care less about foreign agendas, I just hope an innocent man can get out of this alive in a way where the U.S. government doesn’t give in to Iranian trickery.

PlayStation Vita

The PlayStation Vita will be out on February 15th for those who pre-order the bundle. The rest of us can get one a week after February 22nd. For those who can’t wait, the content on Vita Store is starting to appear. As expected, downloading a title will be a little cheaper than buying it a retailer. Uncharted: Golden Abyss is $45 for download, but $50 on store shelves. Modnation Racers: Road Trip will be $27 instead of $30, and Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational is $36 online, or $40 at retail. Personally, I’d rather spend the extra bucks and get a box and the game on physical media. But for those with limited shelve space, or if you don’t wanna go outside to buy a game, this is a pretty good alternative.

These won’t be the only games available at launch. Sony released a list of 275 PSP games available for download or transferred onto your new Vita. Check it out here. If you don’t see your favorite PSP games, more games will be added to the list. I’ve been looking for a reason to get some PSP games I didn’t get the first time around.

Double Fine

In a show of solidarity in the gaming community. Last week, over the span of 24-hours, people donated $1,000,000 to Double Fine studio head, and all around good guy gaming icon Tim Schafer, to create his a new graphic adventure game. The money will be used to improve the project, make a behind the scenes documentary for the game, releasing it on multiple platforms, and paying for localization in different languages. All this fuss because fans want him to make an old-school point-and-click adventure game. Schafer’s initial goal was a mere $400,000, but said:

“If we really, really, really exceed the goals, I think it will make people really notice, and see that there are a lot of different unique, creative ways to fund a game.”

It goes to show you that people are willing to pay for the entertainment they want.

Diablo III

During a conference call with investors last week, Activision-Blizzard is hopping to release Diablo III by the end of the second quarter this year. That means this Summer around June. That sounds good. It gives me time to play Mass Effect 3 a couple times over. But why do I have a feeling that we won’t be indulging in the Diablo loot-fest until the fall.

Lollipop Chainsaw

Lollipop Chainsaw is quickly becoming one of my most anticipated games this year. The whole zombie thing was starting to become really played out. But the sheer craziness of this game keeps me interested. Check out the new trailer introducing the jock boyfriend, Nick Carlyle.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/RbeCAfMuwXg

15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards

The Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit was last week in Las Vegas. One of the highlights of the event is the 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. It’s like the Oscars but for video games. Twenty-thousand game developers and industry experts of the Academy of Arts and Interactive Sciences pick the winners. Here’s a list of all the award winners. I don’t think anything was really snubbed this year. The winners read like a game-of-the-year list.

• Best Original Music Composition: Portal 2
• 
Best Sound Design: Battlefield 3
• 
Best Story: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Best Character Performance: Wheatley
• 
Best Downloadable game: Bastion
• 
Best Casual Game: Fruit Ninja Kinect
• 
Social Networking Game of the Year: Sims Social
• 
Role-playing / MMO Game of the year: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Outstanding Innovation in Gaming: Skylanders
• 
Sports Game of the Year: FIFA 12
• 
Racing Game of the Year: Forza 4
• Fighting Game of the Year: Mortal Kombat
• Strategy / Simulation Game of the Year: Orcs Must Die
• 
Hall of Fame 2012 Inductee: Tim Sweeney
• Family Game of the Year: LittleBigPlanet 2
• 
Mobile Game of the Year: Infinity Blade 2
• Handheld Game of the Year: Super Mario 3D Land
• Adventure Game of the Year: Batman: Arkham City
• Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay: Star Wars: The Old Republic
• Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity: Portal 2
• Action Game of the Year: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
• 
Outstanding Achievement in Animation: Uncharted 3
• 
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction: Uncharted 3
• Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering: Uncharted 3
• Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• 
Game of the Year: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Congratulations to all the winners!

Be sure to check back next weekend for the latest gaming news at Yell! Magazine.

Metal Gear Solid HD Vita Collection

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

Capcom released a new trailer for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (watch it above). The zombie filled multiplayer mayhem will begin on March 20th.

Prototype 2

If you pre-order Prototype 2 at your local Gamestop, you’ll have exclusive access to the Bio Bomb Buttkicker ability. I hate silly pre-order bonuses. At best they are useless add-ons that adds nothing to the experience, and at worst, they can make the game unbalanced by giving you an unfair advantage at the top of the game. Check out the video below, and decide for yourselves.

Final Fantasy XIII-2

The demo for the latest Final Fantasy game is up for download. The Final Fantasy XIII-2 demo is now available on the Playstation Network, and Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo is around 40 minutes long, and goes through the basics of the battle system. To be honest, I haven’t finished the first Final Fantasy XIII, and the thought of playing another one hurts my brain, and makes me feel old. I miss the days where I could sit down and play a 40 to 80 hour Japanese role-playing-game in a few day without breaking a sweat.

Steam

Valve recently released some Steam consumer stats, and the data is juicy. The online game download service now offers 1,800 games, and has 40 million registered users. In an official statement, President of Valve, Gabe Newell said:

“Steam and Steamworks continues to evolve to keep up with customer and developer demands for new services and content, Support for in-game item trading prompted the exchange of over 19 million items. Support for Free to Play (FTP) games, launched in June, has spurred the launch of 18 FTP titles on Steam, with more coming in 2012. Looking forward, we are preparing for the launch of the Big Picture UI mode, which will allow gamers to experience Steam on large displays and in more rooms of the house.”

With new consoles at least a couple years away, and more developers coming aboard Steam. All this tells me is that I need a new computer.

Sony

For months it’s been rumored that Kazuo Hirai, the head of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. would take over for Sony CEO Howard Stringer. Reports are finally surfacing that Hirai will be promoted to President of Sony in April. Hirai has been the head of all things Playstation since 2006. Considering that Sony’s Playstation division is one of the more profitable areas, this changing of the guard is no real surprise. Howard Stringer will still be CEO and Chairman. Making Hirai President of Sony will give him say on every Sony property, from TVs to toasters, to movies, and games, and everything in between.

Child’s Play

A Public Relations debacle of epic proportions occurred during the holiday break. If you haven’t heard, here’s the a link to the story. Long story short, some PR guy said the wrongs things, and was being a complete douchbag to a customer. Then the Internet got a hold of the story, and tore him a new one. Actually, let me say something to my colleagues here at Yell! Dudes, do yourselves a favor, read this story, and if any of us does anything remotely like this, we should all get fired.

Anyway, N-Control, the company that was being represented by this horrible PR firm, is now on damage control mode. They announced that they will make a large donation to Child’s Play, the charity that provides video games to sick children in hospitals. “The Avenger”, the controller add-on for disabled gamers the company makes, is actually a good product. It’s unfortunate that they’re getting such bad press for something a PR agency did in their name. The moral of the story is, know who you’re getting into bed with.

Ninja Gaiden

The Playstation Vita is getting a version of Ninja Gaiden Sigma. Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus will include all the Vita’s bells and whistles, like gyro controlled ninja star aiming, and touch screen magic attacks.

In other Ninja news, Ninja Gaiden 3 will have deathmatch style multiplayer. Check it out here:

Also, details on the obligatory pre-order bonus, and collectors edition. If you pre-order at GameStop, you get a demo of Dead or Alive 5 with Gaiden characters Ryu and Hitomi. If you pre-order at Amazon, you get the same demo but with Ayane and Hayate from the series instead. Or you can skip all that meshugaas and get the collectors edition that will have the demo with all the characters plus bitchin’ ninja figurines, a CD soundtrack, and an art book, for $99.99.

Gran Turismo 5: XL Edition

Gran Turismo is getting a pretty sweet rerelease for those who haven’t bought the game yet. Gran Turismo 5: XL Edition will include all the free updates, and a $20 voucher for in-game DLC, all for $39.99. Gran Turismo 5: XL Edition will be out on January 17.

Get more gaming news on the next jump…

It stars a beautiful looking cheerleader by the name of Juliet Starling (voiced by Tara Strong), who’s main purpose is to fight off hordes of zombies in San Romero High School. Juliet’s weapon of choice is a chainsaw of course, but along with her flexible acrobatic skills, she makes Buffy The Vampire Slayer look like a powerless wimp. Expect to gain tons of upgrades for your chainsaw as you complete tasks throughout the game, which should make zombie killing most entertaining, to say the least. Still no official release date is set yet for Lollipop Chainsaw, but should be available for the PC in 2012. Announcements for the PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 will be made shortly.

WARNING: This new grindhouse style trailer is bursting with sex, blood, and rock’n'roll which is right up our alley. Check it out, and let us know what you think in the comment section below.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection Zombie Map Pack

Rezurrection will be released on August 23rd on the Xbox 360 for 1,200 Microsoft Points. It comes with four remixed, previously released maps, and one new map on the moon. Besides zombies in space, expect new weapons and challenges as well. For those who bought the Hardened or Prestige editions of Black Ops, you get Rezurrection for free.

Mirror’s Edge 2

This game will use the same game engine that Battlefield 3 is running. The first game wasn’t really lacking in the graphics department. Hopefully the controls get an overhauls as well.

Diablo III

Blizzard will let you use real money to buy virtual things in its in-game auction house. In an odd move, Blizzard has stated that they won’t endorse community game mods. And developers are still aiming to release Diablo 3 by the end of this year. But as we all know, release dates are meant to be broken, especially by Blizzard.

Speaking of pushed back release dates, Armored Core V will now be released sometime in 2012, and the Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2 is also pushed back to 2012.

Super Street Fight IV Arcade Edition

SSF IV Will be getting a free 2012 update. There’s nothing wrong with more character rebalancing and improving online stability, especially when it’s free.

Lollipop Chainsaw

From the makers of No More Heroes and the recent Shadows of the Damned, Warner Bros. will be publishing Grasshopper Manufacture’s new title Lollipop Chainsaw in North America, due to be released sometime in 2012.

Gears of War 3

The Ice-T/Gears of War 3 collaboration continues with the release of the music video “Horde 2.0 Five Against All”.

The House of the Dead: Overkill

The House of the Dead: Overkill will be getting two new levels in the PlayStation 3 re-release. Sega showed off the first of two PS3 exclusive levels. Naked Terror stage is set in a zombie-filled strip club. The only place left to fight zombies is in space, and COD‘s got that covered. The PlayStation Move shooter will be released on October 25th.

True Crime: Hong Kong

The canceled True Crime: Hong Kong got snatched up by Square Enix. Square Enix London will finish the job, and it won’t be called True Crime anymore. No released date yet, but it’s nice to see that the game is still happening.

Another game that might make a comeback from the dead is Quantic Dream’s Infraworld. This game was teased in their last game, interactive drama thriller, Heavy Rain. The name resurfaced when Sony trademarked the name in May. I can go for more intense interactive drama in my gaming. I’m glad they’re getting another go at it.

Batman: Arkham City

So many Batman: Arkham City pre-order skins. I want them all. Unfortunately, no Adam West.

EA Sports

For you sports fans, EA Sports is releasing Season Ticket. With this you get 20% off all EA Sports DLC, and access to a downloadable version of upcoming 2012 EA Sports games a few days before launch. Get your Season Ticket on August 27th for $25.

Borderlands 2

2K Games/Gearbox announced Borderlands 2. Expect new characters, skills, environments, and weapons. It should be released by 2013. This is easily one of my most anticipated games. For more info, Game Informer magazine has the exclusive this month.

Be sure to check back next Friday on the latest gaming news at Yell! Magazine.

Call of Duty Black Ops Rezurrection