When portraying a sort of zombie apocalypse, most games try to convey what the creators believe would be realistically likely to happen and often offer some sort of scientific explanation. This game does not.
An alternative title could be "How Not to Handle a Chainsaw if You Want to Live". It doesn't adhere to reality or take itself too seriously, and neither should you. The whole premise is very tongue-in-cheek. The first couple of stages had me rolling my eyes with every line of dialogue, but after that it really grew on me.
Cheerleader Juliet Starling and her other family members, are zombie hunters. This strikes me as an impossible thing to do as an occupation, as zombies are not a common occurrence. Apparently they are in this universe. Juliet rushes to San Romero High School, late to meet her boyfriend on her birthday, only to discover that zombies are everywhere and he has been bitten. With his head having been cut off to save him, Nick becomes the voice of sanity, hanging from Juliet's belt and bouncing on her butt as she runs along. This isn't the end of his trouble however, as he can be thrown around as a weapon, shaken to collect extra money, and placed on the bodies of headless zombies so that he can help out.
The problem turns out to be that a troubled student has unleashed five "dark purveyors" from another world, which each manifest as a themed zombie in a boss fight. Juliet, with Nick in tow, must defeat all of them to save her school and town, with the help of her occasionally-featuring father and two sisters, one of whom is definitely a few sandwiches short of a picnic.
The game's title comes from the fact that, as a seasoned zombie hunter, Juliet not only has a custom, sparkly happy chainsaw to carry around, but she also relies on lollipops for sustenance.
You'll find occasional shop stalls through which to purchase extra lollipops, Nick tickets (via which you can use his head for something), upgrades, skills and outfits.
The bulk of the gameplay involves running along and slashing somewhat unconventional zombies to pieces - they run, swear, breathe fire and blow themselves up. You'll occasionally dip into mini sections, such as that wherein you run over zombies with a harvester - my undoubted favourite - and another in which you must survive a sort of Pac-Man maze.
The soundtrack comprises of existing songs which will grow on you, and some original music by Silent Hill's Akira Yamaoka.
Overall, it's pretty damn fabulous, and I thoroughly recommend it.
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