Another Splendid Adventure
Developers: Media Molecule
Publishers: SONY
It just wouldn't be LittleBigPlanet without Stephen Fry would it? No, it wouldn't, and he's back to present to you the marvellous LittleBigPlanet 2 (and it's everything you wanted it to be.) When the sequel was first announced, I was a little worried, I wondered how the guys and gals over at Mm could improve the game and I thought it was just going to be a repeat of LBP1. Turn's out, I needn't have worried at all. Now I think about it, of course I shouldn't! It's Media Molecule! What could go wrong? (This isn't one of those sarcastic questions where something goes wrong as soon as it's asked.) No, seriously, nothing could go wrong.
After watching some videos of the beta on MyTube (YouTube, but mine ;) I was blown away! This whole 'Not a platformer, a platform for games' idea was the best idea since some swiss bloke welded a knife and a screwdriver together. (Sorry for stealing your joke Mr.Fry.) Seeing all these excellent levels eg. Interpretation of the arcade game Flower, the Ace Combat-like flying game, the first-person shooters, the top down racers were all mind-blowing! Shame then, that they couldn't be carried over to the full game.
That's the one current problem, I had high hopes for the community levels, but to be honest with you, your probably better off playing LBP1's. The thing is, (at the time of writing) the game only came out last week, so no-ones really had time to make something super special yet. If only the levels from the beta were carried over, that would help a great deal. Still, I'm sure we will see some great stuff in time.
Onto the story. Now here is where LBP2 is different. The amount of single-player levels is the same as it's predecessor, but all of them are, simply put, awesome. Mm obviously spent so much more time working on the story this time around and, hell is it noticeable. Every level has you doing something wonderfully different from the last, offering for much variety. But staying true to the core, there are still plenty of tasty prize bubbles to collect, giving you that same sense of achievement every time you here that peaceful 'pop' confirming, you are awesome. LittleBigPlanet 1 had a throw-away storyline, not this time though. With the help of the all new cutscenes, LittleBigPlanet 2's story is told so much better. (I know 'better' isn't the most inventive word, but not all of us can be as exciting as you Mr.HotShot.) Most of this, is thanks to plenty of new tools. In fact, there's so much to cover, I'll end the paragraph here and start a whole new shiny one covering the topic of tools. Just you watch...
Tools - (See!) Well where do I start? How about with my personal favourite? The Grappling Hook! What a wonderful sight to behold, never have I had so much fun swinging across levels, this particular tool is used a helluva lot in the story mode. Moving on swiftly, The Grabinator. Mainly used for picking (your nose) stuff up and throwing them at enemies. The Creatinator. Can be used to vomit out anything you ask it to (If you chose flowers, that would make 'pretty sick'. Haha! Newton and the rest of the weirdos never thought of that!) Instead of my amazing idea it is often used as a fire extinguisher spitting out the flames. These bad boys are all gameplay tools much like the classic Paintinator. (You may remember.) But there's more, advanced tools, first off, the Sackbots. 'Awww, aren't they so cute!' No, there not really, but they can help you out with your levels. Sackbots can do anything your Sackboy can do. You can tweak there settings so that they could follow you, run away from you, or, you could just leave him alone and let him stand his ground. You can even record them so that you are controlling there movements, so that when you run past them, they will hit the floor yo, and dance! Next, the Music Sequencer, which allows you to make your own tunes or even real songs! This tool is often used in community music videos eg. Don't Stop Believing. (Thankfully the author titled 'by Journey' and not that Geordie Joe. Bah!) Finally, the Movie Camera, which is what the big boys use for their cutscenes, but you can use it for making a movie aswell. WOW! That was a long-ass paragraph! Most of these tools are put through their paces in the story levels made by the six creator curators. (The first one you meet is Larry Da Vinci.)
As for creating your own levels, the tutorials are much easier to find now, but other than that it's much the same as LBP1, so nothing outstanding to be said here. (Either that or I just can't be bothered to write anymore.) (I think it's the second one.)
Well it looks like that's all folks! We have come to the end of a highly anticipated review and all I can say is "I'm proud to be British, good job Mm. Now who's turn is it to make a cup of tea?"
The Good
- A story with a plot and a meaning.
- More sweet costumes.
- Prize Bubbles.
- PRIZE BUBBLES!
The Bad
- Not many must-play community levels, but it's still early days.
The Ugly
- Clive Handforth. (Sorry Clive, but the truth hurts.)
Publishers: SONY
It just wouldn't be LittleBigPlanet without Stephen Fry would it? No, it wouldn't, and he's back to present to you the marvellous LittleBigPlanet 2 (and it's everything you wanted it to be.) When the sequel was first announced, I was a little worried, I wondered how the guys and gals over at Mm could improve the game and I thought it was just going to be a repeat of LBP1. Turn's out, I needn't have worried at all. Now I think about it, of course I shouldn't! It's Media Molecule! What could go wrong? (This isn't one of those sarcastic questions where something goes wrong as soon as it's asked.) No, seriously, nothing could go wrong.
After watching some videos of the beta on MyTube (YouTube, but mine ;) I was blown away! This whole 'Not a platformer, a platform for games' idea was the best idea since some swiss bloke welded a knife and a screwdriver together. (Sorry for stealing your joke Mr.Fry.) Seeing all these excellent levels eg. Interpretation of the arcade game Flower, the Ace Combat-like flying game, the first-person shooters, the top down racers were all mind-blowing! Shame then, that they couldn't be carried over to the full game.
That's the one current problem, I had high hopes for the community levels, but to be honest with you, your probably better off playing LBP1's. The thing is, (at the time of writing) the game only came out last week, so no-ones really had time to make something super special yet. If only the levels from the beta were carried over, that would help a great deal. Still, I'm sure we will see some great stuff in time.
Onto the story. Now here is where LBP2 is different. The amount of single-player levels is the same as it's predecessor, but all of them are, simply put, awesome. Mm obviously spent so much more time working on the story this time around and, hell is it noticeable. Every level has you doing something wonderfully different from the last, offering for much variety. But staying true to the core, there are still plenty of tasty prize bubbles to collect, giving you that same sense of achievement every time you here that peaceful 'pop' confirming, you are awesome. LittleBigPlanet 1 had a throw-away storyline, not this time though. With the help of the all new cutscenes, LittleBigPlanet 2's story is told so much better. (I know 'better' isn't the most inventive word, but not all of us can be as exciting as you Mr.HotShot.) Most of this, is thanks to plenty of new tools. In fact, there's so much to cover, I'll end the paragraph here and start a whole new shiny one covering the topic of tools. Just you watch...
Tools - (See!) Well where do I start? How about with my personal favourite? The Grappling Hook! What a wonderful sight to behold, never have I had so much fun swinging across levels, this particular tool is used a helluva lot in the story mode. Moving on swiftly, The Grabinator. Mainly used for picking (your nose) stuff up and throwing them at enemies. The Creatinator. Can be used to vomit out anything you ask it to (If you chose flowers, that would make 'pretty sick'. Haha! Newton and the rest of the weirdos never thought of that!) Instead of my amazing idea it is often used as a fire extinguisher spitting out the flames. These bad boys are all gameplay tools much like the classic Paintinator. (You may remember.) But there's more, advanced tools, first off, the Sackbots. 'Awww, aren't they so cute!' No, there not really, but they can help you out with your levels. Sackbots can do anything your Sackboy can do. You can tweak there settings so that they could follow you, run away from you, or, you could just leave him alone and let him stand his ground. You can even record them so that you are controlling there movements, so that when you run past them, they will hit the floor yo, and dance! Next, the Music Sequencer, which allows you to make your own tunes or even real songs! This tool is often used in community music videos eg. Don't Stop Believing. (Thankfully the author titled 'by Journey' and not that Geordie Joe. Bah!) Finally, the Movie Camera, which is what the big boys use for their cutscenes, but you can use it for making a movie aswell. WOW! That was a long-ass paragraph! Most of these tools are put through their paces in the story levels made by the six creator curators. (The first one you meet is Larry Da Vinci.)
As for creating your own levels, the tutorials are much easier to find now, but other than that it's much the same as LBP1, so nothing outstanding to be said here. (Either that or I just can't be bothered to write anymore.) (I think it's the second one.)
Well it looks like that's all folks! We have come to the end of a highly anticipated review and all I can say is "I'm proud to be British, good job Mm. Now who's turn is it to make a cup of tea?"
The Good
- A story with a plot and a meaning.
- More sweet costumes.
- Prize Bubbles.
- PRIZE BUBBLES!
The Bad
- Not many must-play community levels, but it's still early days.
The Ugly
- Clive Handforth. (Sorry Clive, but the truth hurts.)
