Sackboy has returned, bigger and better than ever. It has been two years since Little Big Planet introduced three-plane platforming gameplay to the masses, and its inevitable sequel has now arrived. Little Big Planet 2 surpasses its predecessor in every way with new, creative levels and improved creation modes.
The journey of Sackboy continues when Craftworld, the universe in which Sackboy lives, is threatened by a new nemesis known as the Negativitron, which sucks up Sackboy’s home. Sackboy is saved by Larry Da Vinci, the leader of a secret organization dedicated to fighting the new force of evil.
The plot is cute and similar to that of a children’s book, but it is not very engaging. However, the levels make up for this and are very fun to play, which is a similar combination to the one that worked in the first game.
Little Big Planet 2 has the same style of game play as the first game, with three, two-dimensional planes – background, middle, and foreground – available for exploration in the platform levels. The basic concept of each level is to get from the starting point to the finish while navigating obstacles and defeating various enemies.
Each world is unique in its own theme, though they all share the same beautiful colors. And similar to the first game, the soundtrack adds to the overall charm and experience the franchise has to offer.
Little Big Planet 2 alsohas un-platform levels that were absent in the first game that advance the game play significantly because of their fun challenge-level and the variety they provide from the standard platform levels. The two-dimensional gaming properties are still in effect, but the player goes from swinging on sponges and bouncing on jump plates to riding on a honey bee and shooting projectiles at enemies in a side-scrolling shooter.
The game’s replay value is extremely high because of the many collectables, such as outfits for Sackboy, stickers, materials and other achievables. Some are only awarded for getting through an entire level without dying.
The online community also offers much to the game, with a new rating system that simply depicts a happy face or a sad face and is much more user-friendly than the previous system, which required tags and stars. This new method of user feedback ensures that the best user-created content is easy to find.
The sequel is somewhat backwards compatible, and allows user-created content from Little Big Planet to be downloaded as well. Players can reenter as their own customized Sackboy from the first game with all of the unlocked customization stickers and outfits. In addition, all levels created in the online community from the previous game are also available within Little Big Planet 2.
The customization for Sackboy is just as brilliant as in the first game. The materials are still unique, such as zombie, neon and wrestler, and the costumes and outfits are even more customizable. The player can now choose what Sackboy wears around his neck and waist, and the possibilities for customization are endless.
Players are no longer limited to making only levels, as Little Big Planet 2 allows complete games to be created. The new creation tools are very flexible and offer new ways to invent, and although the tutorial is much simpler to get to and understand it is not as comprehensive as it should be, and some of the tools need some more explaining.
Experienced players, however, have found practice makes perfect. After all, over 3,000,000 uploads were reached for the first Little Big Planet.
A new part of game creation is the “Controllinator.” This new tool allows players to assign different actions to specific aspects of the design, such as button-pressing or any sort of motion.
The “Grabinator” and The “Creatinator” are also two new tools for Sackboy to use for in-game play. The Grabinator allows Sackboy to grab and throw objects, and the Creatinator is a hat is worn by Sackboy that allows him to fire any object, as controlled by the creator.
The loading screens are still everywhere ,and they are still really slow, just like the first game. It is nearly impossible to do anything without waiting for a loading screen, and while the game has a lot of content, this issue should have been taken care of because the same problem was also seen in the first game.
The game also offers cooperative play for the story mode, online play and the un-platform level challenges. While it takes a little while to get used to cooperative play, it is a great game to enjoy with friends.
Little Big Planet 2 is incredible despite the minor complaints, which do not have enough weight to impact the game overall. The game, exclusive for the Playstation 3, is a great buy for the creative types who want to try their hand at building their own levels, or for those who do not want to try creating and simply want to play the levels others have made.
Even without the online levels by other players, the campaign story mode is a blast, and totally justifies a purchase. Plus, non-creators are also free to play in the amazing worlds created by their fellow gamers, which will surely become more polished and numerous as time goes on. Little Big Planet 2 is the refined next step in a franchise that strives to give new meaning to the phrase “User-generated content,” and it provides an experience that cannot be found anywhere else.
