When the original Little Big Planet was released for PlayStation 3 back in 2008, Sony finally found a mascot for its flagship system. The cute little "sackboys" and "sackgirls" that starred in the title instantly endeared themselves to the public both with their adorable appearances and the overall quality and creativity found in the game. Now developer Media Molecule is back for round two, and the sequel aims to improve on the already solid groundwork set by the original game.
Just like before, players control a fuzzy little unnamed sack character in a whimsical and creative world that's full of imaginative dreamscapes and tongue-in-cheek humor. This time around, the single-player story has the player's character team with the colorful members of a secret group called "The Alliance" to fight off a rampaging inter-dimensional vacuum cleaner that's destroying Craftworld. The story is absurd, but frankly that is exactly what a game like this demands. If you don't mind an experience that doesn't take itself the least bit seriously, then Little Big Planet 2 should be right up your alley.
The gameplay primarily takes the form of a side-scrolling platformer in "2.5D". Your character and the objects in the world are 3D, but you have a limited range of motion in terms of depth. There are also some levels and mini-games that are presented as top-down shooters or puzzle games, which helps make LBP2 a more full-bodied adventure than its predecessor. The difficulty level of the single player story isn't very high, but additional challenges such as collecting hidden items and completing levels without dying give even seasoned veterans a reason to keep coming back.
As fun as the single-player game may be, if you plan on sticking around in the world of LBP2 for very long, you likely will end up making your way to the creative mode. One of the most charming aspects of the Little Big Planet franchise is that everything in the game was created using the same set of tools that players are given access to in the creative mode. Whether you just want to mess around, or you're an aspiring game developer, the creative mode can give you hours upon hours of fun long after you've reached 100-percent completion in the main story.
Now take all of those features and add in a healthy dose of social networking, and the true beauty of what Little Big Planet 2 can offer becomes apparent. With millions of budding artists creating and sharing new levels and gameplay experiences online, there's theoretically no end to the amount of novel content you can encounter while playing LBP2.
Fans of the first LBP are sure to love this one, too, as the basic framework has been left mostly unchanged. The graphics have been updated, the gameplay has been expanded and the creative tools are better than ever. There's even more of the quirky indie music that gave the first game such an intriguing vibe. Grab some friends - either online or on the couch - and pop in Little Big Planet 2. At a time when most big-name games are competing to see who can use the most shades of grey in their ultra-realistic shooters, it's refreshing to find a game that wholeheartedly embraces the blissful feeling you got as a child when you relied on your own imagination to set the course of your adventures.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
