Little Big Planet 2

Little Big Planet 2 is the topic for today!

There is a huge amount of content offered in LittleBigPlanet 2. One of the wonderful things I loved was LBP1 content you collected carried over into LBP2. Overall we have a well polished product that is worthy to sequel an amazing exclusive title.

The controls and gameplay are the same, perhaps a bit more fluid. You can still do all the usual platforming skills, and all previous content/gadgets are still there. The mechanics are more complex, yet more user friendly in Create Mode. Scratch that. More organized, and not user friendly. Just be prepared to watch all the building tutorials a couple times. The characters are ridiculously adorable as expected and customization is flawless. You can customize your Earth and Moon to fit more your style which is a neat touch.



As for the gameplay it is much better. The new gadgets and features brought a lot to the table. LBP1 was unique and new, but when you broke down what you were doing it was just about the same. Run, jump, swing, etc. It wasn't bad, but after awhile it got old. So I started to just watch Cause and Effect levels. With the controllinator and new camera styles you can create completely different games that are platformish. For example someone created a FPS, top-down street fighter, classic arcade games, and much more. You no longer just platform through amazing levels.

The controllinator really opened the horizons. This tool allows you to create anything that you would ride, drive operate, as if you were that object. When you enter something that uses the controllinator you literally become it. Lets say there is a giant robot you can control. Instead of making it shoot and do stuff with switches, levers, buttons, now you press x, square, triangle, and any button on your controller. You literally program it to carry out actions.

Some new gizmos include bounce pads, the grabinator, creatinator, sack bots, and the grappling hook. The grabinator is pretty much the power glove from old Zelda games. You pick stuff up with it. The creatinator is a helmet that can shoot anything that is programmed to it. You could shoot lasers, water, fires, cows, Jeremy Clarkson, robots, etc. The sack bots are my favorite. You can program and create sack people. Instead of having a crappy cardboard sack person that is held up like a sign to introduce your level you can have a robotic sackboy that looks like the real thing. They can follow you, talk, use gadgets, jump, do tasks, anything.

I did not expect that you could record your own voice to use. There is the option of using a recorded voice to read out text. All you need is the headset. I have not tried it, but I have played levels that used it, and it worked well. I don't care for it much though. It does not sound as great or authentic as the Media Molecule Story characters.

The main thing about LBP2 is that now more than ever you feel like you can create anything. You would try to make things in LBP1, but now you have the tools simplified and available to use. I really love the simple enjoyment the game offers. It can be frustrating when you are trying to Ace levels, or complete some ridiculous challenge, but 9 times out of 10 it is simple great fun. It isn't intense like FPS' or horror or many other genres. Its like being a kid and just imagining things to do or when you used to run around outside playing pretend. That is what separates this game from everything else.

Little Big Planet 2 is definitely a buy. You might want to test it out first if you are new to it. It is somewhat of an acquired taste in the sense that not everyone likes "comic mischief" or games rated E.




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