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nexus magazine<br />
White Is For Witching<br />
BOOK REVIEW BY RACHAEL ELLIOTT<br />
Lollipop Chainsaw<br />
GAME REVIEW BY KARL GUETHERT<br />
Helen Oyeyemi knows that it isn’t just children who like ghost stories<br />
with a gothic vibe, and in amongst the strangeness of White is For<br />
Witching (WIFW), I’m still not entirely sure what the hell happened.<br />
But I do know that I loved it.<br />
At first a bit confusing, I eventually figured out that WIFW is narrated<br />
by Eliot (Miri’s twin), Ore (Miri’s lover), an omniscient third<br />
persona (Miri? Her Great Grandmother? I still don’t know) and the<br />
menacing presence of the house itself. It took me a few chapters to<br />
figure out who was speaking and when, but instead of being distracting,<br />
it added to the creepy vibe.<br />
WIFW follows the story of Miri, who, devastated by the loss of her<br />
mother, develops an eating disorder and begins to fade away. At first<br />
this seems a reasonable explanation for Miri’s weight loss and general<br />
degeneration. But it’s not that simple- because Miri’s family live in<br />
their ancestral house, which her father is determined to turn into a<br />
bed and breakfast. But the house, xenophobic, predatory and eerie as<br />
hell, isn’t having a bar of it. WIFW uses the house to comment on the<br />
racist, homophobic tendencies of the British: the house is pissed for<br />
several reasons but especially because Miri is having the sexy time<br />
with a Nigerian woman. In amongst the multitudes of fucked up shit,<br />
the house seems determined to consume Miri herself.<br />
A book that doesn’t require drugs to trip you out- WIFW is a mustread.<br />
Maybe not at home by yourself though (just in case it eats you).<br />
Cheerleaders, zombies and the disembodied head of a boyfriend.<br />
What more could you ask for? Lollipop Chainsaw certainly has all<br />
those, alongside lashings of action, brutality and some big name 70’s<br />
and 80’s musical hits. In this fluoro-coloured zombie slaying gore-fest,<br />
you take on the role of Juliet – chainsaw wielding high school cheerleader<br />
and expert on the occult. Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets<br />
any of the Bring It On movies, and you’re probably halfway there.<br />
Lollipop Chainsaw never takes itself seriously at all. You’ll find<br />
almost every cliché thrown in – Undead Elvis, Rockstar Daddy on a<br />
motorbike, dimwitted yet talented kid sister, and more, but that’s the<br />
point. When the musical line-up includes Cherry Bomb, You Spin Me<br />
Right Round and a lovely ditty titled Zombie Vikings Sail On Lightning<br />
Seas you’ll know you’re in for a good romp.<br />
Each Zombie kill will give you coins to spend on unlocking things –<br />
skills, upgrades, costumes and game extras. The more kills you get<br />
at once will give you more coins. Combo-skills are great for this, and<br />
some of these are both brutal and hilarious. However, despite the<br />
gore, the game has an achievement for looking up the main character’s<br />
skirt, so, well, you know ‘mature’ doesn’t factor into the make-up<br />
of the target audience. Many of the jokes have more cheese than<br />
a plain cheese pizza (and will make you groan just as much). Much<br />
of the fighting can get repetitive. But, for mindless fun, this game’s<br />
pretty great.<br />
13
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