NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Technology

<i>Lollipop Chainsaw:</i> Sex, violence, zombies

By Alan Bell
Other·
17 May, 2012 05:30 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Lollipop Chainsaw brings sass, slapstick, and the pursuit of brains into your living room. Photo / Supplied

Lollipop Chainsaw brings sass, slapstick, and the pursuit of brains into your living room. Photo / Supplied

Warner Bros' upcoming Lollipop Chainsaw, developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, is a bit odd. The name kicks things off, but things don't get much less odd once you start actually playing the game.

You play a cheerleader called Juliet Starling (voiced by the very experienced Tara Strong) and, heading to school one day, you notice that almost everyone has become a mindless zombie. Fortunately, you happen to have your bedazzled chainsaw of undead decapitation in your gym bag, so without hesitation you start it up and get to work.

The way this plays out is as a roaming brawler, with three key buttons to think about. You can chain melee attacks by spamming one button, while a second links together various chainsaw based attacks, and a third initiates a dodge. Initially simplistic, this control mechanic opens up over time as you learn simple combos or purchase more advanced moves at the in-game store.

During a recent hands-on session, I began by concentrating on chainsaw attacks: I mean, would you want to risk punching the bad guys when you've got a roaring saw thing in your hands? Very soon, however, the sheer weight of numbers meant the chainsaw alone was insufficient at keeping the undead at bay.

Next, I learned (by way of well-placed in-game tutorials) that utilising melee attacks was a useful way to both stun the zombies and also push your way through them, as Juliet actually makes forward progress as she chains together various attacks in this way. It's all just pushing one button over and over, but the way Juliet flips and kicks and spins and punches makes it feel satisfying nonetheless.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Stunning has another added benefit: zombies are guaranteed to be decapitated should you attack them with the chainsaw. Decapitate at least three zombies at once and you'll earn bonus coins, which you then need to purchase the extra moves and other stuff from the in-game shops. This simple mechanic, which is gloriously slapstick to behold, adds a lot of strategy and risk/reward consideration to the combat.

The other core component of the undead destruction is the aforementioned dodge ability. Operating primarily as a "get out of danger" move, it's also contextual - pressing it while pushing your stick towards an enemy, for example, will cause you to leap gracefully over their heads.

Additionally, chaining dodge with another attack can actually lead to a combo or special move in and of itself. Leaping over a zombie and then spamming the chainsaw button will see you insert the chainsaw between the enemy's legs and then, well, lift it upwards. If it wasn't for the fact that your enemies are zombies, this would probably be even more cringeworthy than it already is.

Throughout the experience, Juliet proffers her observations on life and the actions of the undead. She also shows a lot of skin, with unlockable outfits (as seen in the game's gallery) promising to reveal even more. There's also plenty of suggestive in-game dialogue, stating things like "don't use the camera to look upskirts... too often", as well as pre-animated moves and cameras that go out of their way to concentrate on the crotch or lavish the player with sideboob.

The game is linear, however the environments you're fighting in always have at least some degree of free-roaming ability, which helps give you some options once the difficulty ramps up (which it does, and pretty quickly at that). There's also often some sort of random event that triggers a change in the level, resulting in you ending up going somewhere other than you thought you might, as busses crash down the hall of the school or someone blows up the floor underneath you.

Discover more

Technology

Game review: <i>Sniper Elite V2</i>

15 May 02:30 AM
Technology

Game review: Mortal Kombat Vita

16 May 07:00 PM
Technology

<i>Ghost Recon</i>'s future drawing near

16 May 11:50 PM

I had a lot of fun in my short time with the game, and can see it's a title that focuses on entertaining and being inane above all else - something of a hallmark of Goichi Suda (Suda51)'s games of late. It did get pretty seriously hard, however, even on the "normal" difficulty level, with zombies able to attack you while you're dodging and a health-bar that likes to head toward "empty" at high speed.

If you like the sound of a polished, sexy, violent, and ultra-Japanese zombie-fest, Lollipop Chainsaw is out on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on June 15th.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

- NZGAMER.COM

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Technology

Business

New World customers warned after ‘password spraying’ attack

Premium
Technology

‘Huge upheaval’: Big Govt department's tech team to be cut

Technology

Google's AI app lets users create videos from photos at $20 a month


Sponsored

Tired of missing out on getting to global summits to help grow your business?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Technology

New World customers warned after ‘password spraying’ attack
Business

New World customers warned after ‘password spraying’ attack

New World's parent company Foodstuffs says none of its systems were breached.

12 Jul 02:39 AM
Premium
Premium
‘Huge upheaval’: Big Govt department's tech team to be cut
Technology

‘Huge upheaval’: Big Govt department's tech team to be cut

11 Jul 04:00 AM
Google's AI app lets users create videos from photos at $20 a month
Technology

Google's AI app lets users create videos from photos at $20 a month

11 Jul 02:50 AM


Tired of missing out on getting to global summits to help grow your business?
Sponsored

Tired of missing out on getting to global summits to help grow your business?

14 Jul 04:48 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP