Lollipop Chainsaw

Lollipop Chainsaw is an okay-but-not-great melee-action game, in the same way that Shadows of the Damned was an okay-but-not-great third-person shooter; serving as a vehicle for really wacky scenarios and mechanics. The combat balance seems off from the start, and awkward checkpoints combine terribly with some instant-fail quick-time-events. At the same time, this is a game about a high-school cheerleader who slices up zombies with a chainsaw, so, there is that.

I wouldn't say I've been as impressed by this game's premise as I have been by Grasshopper's other recent productions (Shadows of the Damned, No More Heroes and 2) -- the introduction is somehow verbose and light at the same time, steeped in high-school authenticity but lacking in charm. The end of the first level, though, hints at a much quirkier and more involved plot that I hope continues to flesh out.

As for the combat? Like I said, not great, but it has some cool flairs and seems mechanically solid. I haven't invested enough upgrade currency into new moves and combos yet to see how much they might change things up, but in essence it seems very dodge- and swing-heavy, which feels pretty cool. There's a definite disappointment in using the fast attack (pom-poms) as opposed to the heavy attack (the titular chainsaw), but leaping around to confuse the zombie hordes while cutting them down is definitely fun.

What irritates me the most so far, aside from the aforementioned checkpoint-QTE struggle, is how overlong the first level was. Truthfully I don't know if the game would have resumed at a checkpoint had I stopped midway through, but the hodgepodge of parking lot, corridor, classroom, and junkyard levels really felt like it was stretching my patience to soldier on.

Progress: Killed Zed