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LittleBigPlanet 2 from Media Molecule releases this year as the sequel to the original hit that took creativity on the Playstation 3 to new heights with its community-fuelled world of fun platforming, co-op and sack-folk.

We delved into the LittleBig world to bring your our LittleBig review.

The first thing that you will notice about LittleBigPlanet 2 is that it looks a heck of a lot like LittleBigPlanet 1, so much so that after you accept the option to import everything in from your LBP1 profile, you would be hard pressed to even know that you are in a new game.

The single player campaign works in a very similar way to how everything rolled along in the first game, with pretty much the same platforming mechanics except that you will be occasionally thrown into different levels that mimic 2D shooters or top-down racers. That aside, it still maintains that wonderful charm that LBP is known for and if you manage to hook up with 2-3 other friends in a 4 player co-operative game, there are smiles and giggles aplenty as you all run around having fun with your sack-folk.

LittleBigPlanet 2 would be nothing without its community-driven content and this is obviously where the game still shines the brightest. All of the creations from the first game are still available and anything you have downloaded or created can be brought over. The new tools are pretty insane and once you have browsed the content already availably out there, you will find yourself amazed at what can be done.

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People had already created short films (like this Batman one) using the tools, and I even played a scrolling first-person Vietnam shooter as well as a top-down F1 racer on the Monza circuit. Where before you could create levels, you can now create different types of games… heck I even played a really awesome remake of Zelda 1. It’s clear to see that while there is already a solid platformer here, the content is only going to give gamers more and more to play around with over time. The creative ones among you will be in heaven, and may find themselves spending more time creating than actually playing.

In terms of the technical aspects of the game, I can understand that they kept a lot of the game the same to accommodate the content from the first, but I still can’t help but feel that the visuals could have been given a little big of a boost. I mean… it basically looks and sounds the same. I can’t really mark it down for that, as the content is still great, but one can’t help but feel that LBP2 is more like a LittleBig content pack.

Conclusion:

LittleBigPlanet 2 is still a creative and fun platformer to play, especially with friends. The downside is that a lot of your fun is dependent on the community-driven content, and that also means that anyone without a good or affordable internet connection will be missing out on a whole lot of the major reasons that make it great, and the single player campaign might not be enough to warrant the purchase.

I have to review the package in its entirety, with all factors taken into account but I implore you to apply your own personal situation to your decision this time around. Are you constantly online? Can you spare the bandwidth? Do you have buddies to play with? You get the idea.

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Scoring:

Gameplay: 8.5

Still good fun to play and thanks to the tools offered you can have lots of fun playing in, or even creating, new games and levels.

Design and Presentation: 8.5

LBP2 still embraces the entire theme of creativity and fun and while nothing has changed, it still is a pretty game to look at.

Value: 9.0

Once again, very dependent on what you have access to, if you have people to play with and so on. If you play it the way that it’s meant to be played, there are hours of fun and joy to be had.


OVERALL: 8.5

A great game with lots of new ways to have fun.Those who love this sort of experience will be in gaming heaven.

[Reviewed on Playstation 3]

Last Updated: February 16, 2011

LittleBigPlanet 2
8.5

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