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To veterans of the first Little Big Planet, Media Molecule’s sophomore effort will entertain and excite in all the rights way. It’s bigger, better and overall more enjoyable. ‘Sackboy’ is now ‘Sackthing’, a gender neutral character in order to allow more customization, and he/she (it?) is ready for action.
The main story of Little Big Planet 2 comes with 30 pre-made levels as you control Sackthing on a quest to bring down the Negativitron – a big, nasty baddie destroying all the cities in Craftworld! The story does not take itself seriously at all, but it provides the perfect atmosphere for the light-hearted, colourful nature of the game. It’s not about the story; it’s about the level design, which shines with excellence at every turn. The levels are clever, engaging, and some will require many attempts to master. You can also choose to play each level alone or with another player, the latter opening up areas you may have missed before. Bubbles and pins are scattered throughout levels, with many containing items, clothing and stickers which then become available for level designs and other customization options.
The complex and time-consuming level-create mode is back, and filled with more options that ever (over 1600 new items to start with). This time around 47 tutorials are in place to help you get going. Getting your own level up is only a button press away, and then people are free to play, explore and rate your creations in all their glory!
As with the first game, your character can navigate between three planes within the 2.5D world – foreground, middle and background. It worked in the first game and it still works here, providing extra depth (literally) to level designs. However, the biggest change is to the range of gameplay. Little Big Planet 2 is not just a platforming game, but a racer, a fighter, a puzzler, a shoot-em-up and anything else users can think of creating! All the tools are there – the future of the game is in the player’s hands. It truly is phenomenal what some users have already created. You can search for practically anything, and sure enough a faithful community user will have already made something related to it. The only way to really experience the magic is to get online now. Until then, check out what you’re missing:
Little Big Planet 2 is out now exclusively on Playstation 3.
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