"The Walking Dead"

There was a time that I stopped being enamored by the Zombie medium. There is a plethora of them out at one point and well, I was kind of burned out. It always had the same kind of idea (and again, a lot of things nowadays *IS* repetitive, but done right, despite it being done before, it can still be exhilarating): Survival, hordes of zombies, apocalypse, blah... blah... blah.

But echoes of this certain: The Walking Dead series had come across my sense of hearing from all corners. A particular good friend of mine finally convinced me when this said friend DID give The Avengers a shot(I mean, why shouldn't you give Avengers a shot right?! Which, probably the same spectrum she is looking at it with The Walking Dead). So... When I begin anew, I'll be watching this for sure!

My Words On:

Story/Plot: Starting on the worst end of the stick when it comes to this game. Resident Evil 6's main flaw from my judgement is the story and execution. What was once seemingly a good base starting way back when with the original Resident Evil, which passed on to the second, and I'll even be close to admit that the direction they took on Resident Evil 4 (digressing from the full idea of Zombie apocalypse notion) was in a fair direction. Resident Evil 5 got a bit complacent with the idea that shying away from zombies ... so here comes Resident Evil 6 tying it back in to their roots with four choosable campaigns and a convoluted mess of a story!

Leon and Helena ... Ask a Zombie a question before shooting.

Their idea was very interesting to say the least. Done right and well, we could've had a very good Resident Evil in our hands, but IF is a big two letter statement. What made it so bad story wise? It was so mixed up and they were everywhere! I mean don't' get me wrong, for the most part I was able to keep up despite the rather unsettling method they used to tell a story. There were times when I was a bit lost in translation like the 'other Ada' for one. Maybe there was something in the Resident Evil mythos that I seemed to have overlooked? I didn't play every single game so suffice to say, there might be some chasms I am unable to fill, however, I am still a bit on the other side of the fence that a game that is trying to be stand alone in its own way should still have the capability of keeping the player in tuned with the story even without the whole facts! 

Love stories... 

Or a perpetuated rapport that surrounds itself in side stories and movies...

So if the base of the story wasn't enough to dissuade me that this game wasn't exactly the zenith of the Resident Evil franchise, the characters themselves seems to have a bit of a loss in translation, or perhaps, asinine and out of character quirks to them. I have Chris Redfield fluctuating from his ever so calm and cool self, to the raging alcoholic and the vengeance ridden idiot he was throughout the whole game, then on a whim was able to shift back to the Chris Redfield that Sheva Alomar spread her loins to. Leon spent a lot of time pointing his gun at a zombie, inquiring and wondering if the Zombie would actually adhere with logical human reaction by stopping all chaotic intention when a gun is pointed at it. We have a Wesker jr and a 'super girl' that I can't help but picture as Sherry from Resident Evil 2 and now all of a sudden a super secret agent? Ada Wong ... now I absolutely adore this girl but her in Resident Evil 6 sends some of her credibility to the pits. 

 

It just seems that there were a myriad of conflicts but they tried to converge it to be one problem that a certain few are tied into. Their attempt to make a game widespread with many different avenues to explore but in the end it was just one campaign told from different point of view; and that may not be a testament of failure, of course not! But execution has to done with flawless hands! Characters also have to be competent from what supposed caliber they came from and there has to be rhymes and reason as to why and not just happening just because.

That's how I felt, Chris.

In the grand scheme of things I am always one to say there is something to find in a game and enthuse oneself in the fine and small lines. I will say that I enjoyed Leon's somewhat and Ada's was fun because it was Ada. Other than that, I didn't care much for the story ... I wanted it to be over and I wanted to get to the action far more than I wanted to get to know the characters.

 4/10

Gameplay: Running and rolling. Shoot while walking. When the situation dictates, melee was a valid tool on the player's disposal. These were the things that gave Resident Evil 6 a far too promising addition to the franchise. But first and foremost, let's look at these supposed additions, Resident Evil 5 was still under the 'stop and shoot' process. So bringing up RE5 does what? Well, suffice to say that the gameplay of Resident Evil have been outdated for a long long time! The modifications only meant catching up to a modern must in the gaming world, least in my opinion. Then there is the ever so popular QTE (quick time events) of the gaming world. There is a plethora of them in RE6. Some rather fitting, others a bit frivolous and just placed in the game for the sake of!

This can actually either fun, or tedious, or just plain annoying.

Outside the aspect of combat, Resident Evil threw a lot of other components of other games into Resident Evil and I can't exactly say that it helped the game. I mean, one minute I'm killing zombies or mutated chinese terrorists, next thing you know I'm flying a plane and riding in a motorcycle! Partner system seems like one of the 'good things' that came out of RE5 according to al to of people. Never was a big fan. It took away from the whole 'survival' feel. But I do like how playing character over the other does give the player a different view point. Still, partner system seems a bit too unfitting in a 'survival' based game.

I was not lying! Airplane battle!!!

It just felt off and not to mention it perpetuated the annoyance I felt for the game since I just wanted to beat the damn thing, but here I am flying airplanes and how odd that I HAD to learn a bit of need for speed in the 'racing' part of the game. The thought process is prudent in its own way, however, the way it was all jumbled in there made it so off! One or two 'side games', that's fine. But a helicopter, a motorcycle, an airplane, and then a 'racing' sequence? A bit too much for me. And that's just me speaking in regards to the vehicle side quests/whatsoever; Resident Evil 6 also had a bit of a problem in regards to its camera angle. It wasn't the it was too thin as most complaints were spitting out, although that is one major flaw, it's the fact that it just didn't work for melee!!!

Good thought. Bad finishing.

So it seems repetitive in my tirade in regards to gameplay that there were a lot of good thought put into it. How it came out to be, well, that was what the problem was. They tried to do too much and the result came out very little to please. 

6/10

Graphics:  Resident Evil 6's ability to showcase Capcom's graphic strength is something to adore but far from being enamored by. It's good, don't get me wrong, I mean, I didn't really complain at all when I was going through the game. The zombies and all the monsters that Capcom laid out for our heroes to encounter are adhering to certain lore that most of us would not like to encounter in an alley. There are a plethora of these beasts and their variety comes in many different forms! From simple zombies, humanoids with insect like form, beasts that are somehow intangible to really describe, then to the more 'nemesis' looking variation, and of course the bosses don't fall short in their zest and Capcom tries very hard to give its hand on making sure we get a fill of these abominations!

Sadly however, that also becomes a bit of a downfall for me. While originality and the seemingly infinite well of ideas are a strong side, Capcom delves TOO HEAVILY on the crazy designs that in their first appearance seems naturally somewhat impressive, but as they got crazier (speaking boss wise for the most part) they just became more and more annoying. 

What The Hell?!

Character design, definitely not the strongest point, but I can't help but notice that graphic wise, they serve their purpose. I've always been a fan of Ada Wong, and the asian double spy is the same gal that I  am so enthusiastic about every time she comes on the screen in this game. While no trying to delve into the whole story part with Ada on this section, I'll just talk about how her sass, her rather calm persona was very drawn out in the graphics of the game. But on that same note, visage wasn't always Capcom's main flaw, but their priorities do somewhat tends to lean on some wrong aspects. Ada's (along with Leon's) has health and vigor in them through the way they shine, but they tend to be a bit anti gravity. Wind doesn't damage hair posture because beauty shouldn't be scathed by mother nature's wrath!

Environment wise, yeah it was well done. But then again, the atmosphere is repeated in all three campaign so I would say consistency was one of the strong points in that aspect. CG and in game has a great distinction, but again, I'm not one to complain that much about in game as long as the game adheres to idea of the standard graphics of this day and age. Special affects do well with every intended purpose on the situation, again, Capcom had always been good with their graphics, no doubt about that, however it's pretty apparent where most their effort goes.

Now that's sensually horrifying. That and it can be incest.

 7.5/10

Difficulty:  I found this game rather tedious more than difficult. That is my problem as a gamer, when one game loses its zest, I just merely want to finish it for the sake of not wasting my investment and such. So in that sense, I think my need to be terse with this game had been my downfall for some parts of the game. Though having a myriad of weapons to choose from was a blessing that made it so much easier! The perks and the constant barrage of healing items and ammo (though sometimes the replenishment from the game and killing enemies seems sparse) made the game easy enough to manage. The QTE however sometimes proved to be a bit of a hassle than anything else which raised the bar of difficulty for a moment or two.

Ah... choices! Too bad making it a better game wasn't an option!

The side games became the bane of me at times. I just didn't feel like the game flowed with a need for speed section. That and sometimes the uncooperative camera angles made trained law enforcement and soldiers alike (speaking of the characters of course) inept at their certain forte (and not to mention their not-so-smart actions that are a bit out of character). And if one want to capsulize where my average deaths came from, it's from the out of place side games like the racing and some from the QTEs that seemed a bit redundant. 

7/10

Voice/Audio: I didn't notice the music enough to give it some thought. It didn't exactly hinder anything for me, but it didn't do anything great. Voice? Well in my honest opinion they did a damn good job. The actors, although given lousy script and as I have already expressed, some stupid choices which also sums up some abhorrent comments, I think they did a good job expressing emotions and voice fluctuation when needed. None seemed to lack any real character and as long as Ada Wong kept her rather provocative tone, the sass and all that, I'm happy. If there was one person in this game that I'll be complaining about is Sherry. Again I have a hard time putting her as this badass secret agent because I remember her as this 8 year old girl that Claire had to rescue 90% of the time in Resident Evil 2. It also doesn't help that she still had the perky voice to pair along with that.

There should be a voice changer option for Sherry.

Overall: I heard and read reviews that are vehement in how terrible it was. Some people say it's a huge stumble from the 'progress' that Resident Evil did with RE4 and RE5. At first that was a bit harsh, but as I got to feel and know the game, FORCED myself to beat Chris' campaign, and barely found myself enjoying Ada Wong's missions, well, the score I am going to put will be more than Adequate. It's a damn shame too. For the part of the game that felt fun and compelling, there are five other parts of the game that I scoff and detest! I think capcom TRIED too hard to make it something that it was not; they added in a little too much aspects that just doesn't give anything but instead it deters any sort of enjoyment. I mean, yeah, graphics are nice to an extent, but when Ada and Leon's hair are immaculate and shining amidst the chaos of a zombie apocalypse... and then we have Chris trotting about like a dumb muscle head, and we have Wesker's son running about (Can the Wesker legacy die, please?!) as one of the good guys... argh! They either really need to reboot this franchise big time or just let it end! It's like a zombie on its own! It's hanging on to every bit of its humanity but every time it speaks its nothing but unintelligent groans that makes you cringe!

5.5/10

Ada: "I'm still hott!"

Sherry: "My come back, and it all went to hell..."

Lollipop Chainsaw Music Video

Just a little bit of work that I enjoyed doing. Did it for a certain someone that requested it. 7=) Enjoy!

My Words On:

Story/Plot:  Now let me be perfectly clear in regards to this game's direction of story and/or plot, it makes no attempt to disguise it's cheesiness and the lack of any real stern explanation as to why and how things are about in this universe. It is as out there as it is a parody of many zombie/vampire/demon slaying genre games and/or anime medium. It doesn't try to stand out as a game to awe or inspire for anything grand or spectacular, instead it merely jabs at the notion of trying to get a laugh and a ridiculous reaction from the gamer. So with that in mind, Lollipop Chainsaw's story about a high school student named Juliet whose family 'side job' is to slay zombies and other abhorrent supernatural beings. One day, at her 18th birthday to be exact, Juliet's school is infected by a zombie crisis that only she can deter. While she stands alone with her chainsaw to hack through the more than generous numbers of zombies left and right, we get to see some of her wacky crew both villains and friends alike. No interaction from any of the characters deplete the vibe that this game is trying to give through its story and that is of course HUMOR.





Of course this game also rode on the ever so popular glory of sexuality. Juliet whose looks and body could kill visage and her cheer leading outfit makes the firm stand that this game is not shy about showing off its 'assets'. While the game's story does of course mostly delve into the realm of zombie and super natural slaying, it doesn't fall short on adding some quirks about panty shots, her boyfriend and her father's talk about the use of 'tongue', and of course there are panty shots left and right. If you assumed that it is going to be provocative when you saw the trailer, well you didn't make an ass out of you and me because Juliet had no qualms about her modest areas to be teased when swinging her damn chainsaw around.


The two main vibes that the game was trying to convey never did lose its momentum from beginning to end. Again, it makes no attempt to be a game that is distinct or even majestic, instead it leans on parody and the ever profiting notion of fan service. Don't expect anything more than that and I would imagine that my giving score is more than adequate and perhaps a bit comforting.

Love? 

7.0/10.0

Gameplay: The main deal of this game: Hack and slash through as many zombies as you can using Juliet's awesome acrobats, her very attentive and affective handling of a chainsaw (which transforms into a gun and a propeller for a straightforward momentum cut), and all at the same time managing to offer some panty shots, rather promiscuous action shots, and deliver some awesome multi kills to offer some rewarding aftermath both fan service and medal wise. So again, it's an action/hack and slash genre so in the grand scheme of things, it offers very little in terms of originality. But I am always a firm believer in the idea on how it is executed is what makes a game unique and note worthy. Furthermore, in my side of my thinking: a hyper sexual, over the top action, gore, and humor pasted into a not so complicating, but not too easy of of a button mashing, combo delivering, reactionary set up doesn't necessarily give a definitive for failure; but on the same hand it doesn't spell out spectacular. 

Killing Zombies like this NEVER gets old!

What Lollipop Chainsaw did that makes it a standard and enjoyable hack and slash is that it gives players a few options on how to deal with their undead assailants. Combos of course are the main way to get some of the more 'sparkling zombie hunter' points for medals, however it also allows players for a bit more jovial way to kill through the different positioning a player can put him/herself into. And as the player progresses and gains more medals, the ability to purchase new ability spices things up a bit and also makes things easier to deal with the more aggressive stages. Through story mode, Juliet gains some new abilities like a gun, which of course adds more versatility in using long range to deal with enemies that melee can't quite reach or if a player chooses no to engage up close on any given moment. Of course boss battles also calls for reacting by pressing on specific buttons it calls for which of course always adds a bit more assertion as a player.



What I didn't quite expect from this game however is the handful of mini games that a player has to go through to beat certain stages. While for the most of them are rather silly and sometimes unnecessary, a few offer a bit more shout out to classic games like a 'pac man stage'. There are of course more repetitive mini games like putting Juliet's decapitated boyfriend on a headless Zombie which adheres to reacting to more button pressing; the joy I find in this is seeing Juliet actually use her cheer leading skills to motivate her boyfriend... and of course may I add the commentary and the sequence is quite hilarious.

She is a cheerleader after all, you know? 

While I can say that I've only put about a little over ten hours into the game, I can make a fair judgement that the game offer a little bit more than what I expected. Again this game is fallible in more than one aspect gaming wise, however it was and still is enjoyable enough.

POP IT!!!

7.5/10


Graphics: A game that is offering to delve into the corner where sexuality seems to be a crucial point in selling and just plain service has to have graphics that somewhat convey visuals that are just as appealing as the thought. Needless to say, Juliet with her skimpy outfit/s is 'drawn out' quite well and does the sensuality justice. It was plainly obvious that there was a lot of work put into Juliet's every curve and every being since she is the main attraction while everything else such as the background and the generic zombies doesn't exactly get the most intricate details as Juliet and the more prominent characters; which rightfully so. 

Vibrant colors.

An Alluring main character.

Nothing short of a panty shots!

But everything else that goes with it doesn't exactly fail to meet the standards of today's gaming. The background and animation are full of vibrant and morbid colors that it fits quite well, and almost beautifully adds a contrast to Juliet's constant slashing, running, cheering, and posing. There are a few styles that are placed into this game and it can almost be thought provoking as to why it was put the way it was. A good example of this the mixture of the comic like strips into the loading screens and certain button sequence scenes; then of course while Juliet is easy on the eyes (so to speak), the rather fantasy and visceral enemies that she has to go through can almost highlight or overwhelm her, but then we have the constant rainbow like affects that clearly always wants to remind the player that she we are controlling a badass girly girl that has no qualms into lifting herself from the splits to cut a zombie in half from the groin and up. I find it quite entertaining that blood and pink hearts are splattered all over the screen; the oxymoron more or less adds to the parody of this game.

Cut scenes do it justice.

Another thing about the mixture of different styles, while the majority of the game is a 3rd person hack and slash and we see Juliet and her enemies for what they are, there are times when it will switch to a nostalgic old fashioned game. The graphics try to reduce back to a 8bit like perception but still keeping the colors of the game itself. It's almost like a complete night and day shift when you enter a room expecting to hack away at more zombies but instead your are playing a game that resembles the classic Pacman.

So truthfully, graphic wise I have no real complaint. It does what it can to make the game fit the whole seductive and bloody intention, and all in the while giving perves out there a new female protagonist that doesn't exactly have any shyness to showing herself off, intentional or not. Especially with some of the alternate outfits.

A mixture of Lust and a bit of jovial gore.

8.0/10

Voice Acting/ Audio: One of the things that really got me interested even more in this game is that on of my favorite and more prominent voice actor in the gaming world lends her voice to give depth to Juliet. Tara Strong (AKA Rikku, Harley Quinn, X-23, so forth) for sure is a good choice for the badass but somewhat over too jovial persona of Juliet Starling. Now I  don't need to further press on the issue that Tara Strong is popular and 'used' in many games for a reason. Now I may be biased (probably) because the characters she voices always seems to be some of my favorite characters, however I can't deny that she has talent for these kind of femme fatales. And it's not the fact that she did a good job as Juliet (which let me add has very little distinction to the tone she uses as Rikku; so basically, I'm hearing Rikku as a cheerleader), but the fact that the lines she had dished out all throughout the game are vulgar and full of humor. The tone of the game as I pointed out falls nothing less of humor, well hearing the main gal saying things like: "What the Dick?" or "Pop it!", "...She's the reason why we wear our vaginas straight" is quite HILARIOUS! Again, it's like hearing Rikku of FFX with a lot of obscenities to exploit.

Rikku?!

As for the other actors, they didn't fall short of keeping the tone or expressing their characters. The again however, most of the other NPCs and Villains are vague in personality and have very little to almost no spotlight for them to matter. The incoherent calls of the zombies are usually overshadowed in my ears by Juliet's constant grunts, calls, and cheering, as well as her conversation with her decapitated boyfriend that hangs on her skirt.



As for the background music, well I enjoyed it quite well actually. One thing that this game does do is that it offers a lot of rock, some of the oldies like 'Lollipop', and the one thing I enjoyed that I started using a lot more 3/4 into the game is that you can put your own BGM. The choices have some variety as they have underground rock groups like Five Finger Death Punch. The game's own default music fits quite well with the scenes and it adds to the whole 'dark but funny' atmosphere. So needless to say, I think this is one of Lollipop Chainsaw's more stronger area; frankly it's because of the voice acting of Tara Strong.

9.5/10

Difficulty: I played on normal so the normal playthrough of the game offers lower than mediocre challenge. While the zombies aren't the norm dragging and mindless sprites like they used to be depicted in many games, they are still easy to slay especially when Juliet gets upgrades either through combos or her 'body' enhanced (durability, strength, etc). What does add a bit more of, not necessarily a challenge, but a bit of a 'hiccup' are the nostalgic 'mini games'. While again, they aren't exactly difficult, they do lean a bit more on the patience side of things. It also takes some adapting from the norm pressing combos to toggling the analog to the right or the left. All in all, there is no real difficulty and I doubt that the higher calibers will offer a grand difference (of course the normal enemies are stronger in health, damage output, etc. Probably, or I hope the AI gains more intelligence).

Can't Lose with this gun!

7.0/10


Overall: As I had stated in a post prior to this one and throughout the course of this review, the game makes no attempt to be something different or to be another Mass Effect so to speak. It is what it is, a game feeding off parody, sexuality, and the entertaining aspect of hack and slash. I believe if one is looking for something stellar, original, and a game that will compare to the majority's concept of a 'great game', please deter yourself from this one. This is a cheesy, very over the top, and provocative game that offers more fan service than actually trying to advance in the gaming world. And as a gamer that loves fan service in this kind of genre (missing some bondage however! lol), I'm okay with it the way it is and enjoyed the few hours I played it. But it does fail in the length like a lot of the games do these days. Yes, the replay value does adhere with the trophies, and if one is into collecting such bragging rights, then one like myself can play this over and over again. Of course let's not forget the fact that there will probably be DLC's coming its way. Extra stage... more costumes... who knows. But all in all I like this game and I will make an attempt to platinum it. But chances are it will be over shadowed with a few games coming out in the next month or so, but that doesn't affect the overall score I had always planned to give it since it is on its own right a note worthy game.

7.5/10

Fan Service take a bite on this game!!!