Little Big Planet 2 PS3 Review

The original Little Big Planet was a game that revolutionized creation games. Before Little Big Planet, level creation was usually restricted to first-person shooters on the PC through level editors and mods. The only console based creation games were RPG Maker and Fighter Maker for the original Sony Playstation and the Sony Playstation 2. Both of those games were horrendous in their heyday, yet they opened the doors for console based creation games. Now we have Little Big Planet and Modnation Racers, which allow for a larger range of customization and variety.

Little Big Planet 2 takes the original game to the next level in terms of creative tools for the end user. The story, as has always been the case, is a convoluted mess that only a hippy high on mushrooms or a mental patient in a strait jacket can understand. Apparently, the world is being threatened by a serpentine creature called the Negativitron that is basically sucking objects into its maw and then spitting out evil creatures throughout the world. The goal of Sackboy is to defeat the Negativitron and restore happiness to Craftworld.

Little Big Planet 2 has changed very little visually from the first game, which is not bad considering the cardboard cutout art style from the first game is still quite entertaining. Sackboy has a new gadget to help him maneuver around, which is a grapple hook and the squirt gun from the Metal Gear Solid DLC in Little Big Planet has now made a return as a standard tool. Sackboy also can pick up and throw objects and minimally control Sackbot minions. There are also vehicles in Little Big Planet 2 that allow for a unique twist to the standard platforming in the shape of animals, such as a dog, a hamster, a bee, and a bunny. The animals have their own innate abilities that assist in reaching otherwise impassable areas or part of a boss battle. Also, characters besides the narrator now have voices as well.

The single player story mode of Little Big Planet 2 is regrettably very short at only six worlds and approximately five main story path stages per world. The main story path can be completed in less than five hours without obtaining all of the sticker item bubbles. The game is easy enough that players can complete the game entirely alone with no trouble at all or employ the help of up to three other players offline or online. To extend gameplay, players can try to achieve 100% completion for trophies. Little Big Planet has never been about the story mode though.

Little Big Planet 2 is about creation and there are a multitude of new tools and ideas that can be derived from the story mode and its mini-games to spark the creative and imaginative juices of anyone. There are 52 tutorials to help the novice and even advanced users to create the level of their dreams. One of the new tools introduced in Little Big Planet 2 is the ability to link levels, so that users can essentially create their own entire game instead of single modular levels. All stickers and costumes from the original game and DLC can be imported into Little Big Planet 2 for use. Little Big Planet 2 allows players to make a multitude of game types, from top-down racers to puzzle games, to fighting games. Just taking a look at the community levels will give the user an idea of what is possible and that truly, only one’s imagination is the limit to what can be created.

Little Big Planet 2 comes in a standard and collector’s edition. The collector’s edition comes with five Playstation avatars and Sackboy costumes of Tron Legacy’s CLU, Jak, Daxter, Ratchet, Clank, Gonzo of the Muppets, the Alien from Toy Story 3, a crocodile, a cobra, a vulture, and a mandrill. It also comes with two Little Big Planet 2 bookends to hold up a player’s game collection and a plush Sackboy doll. Little Big Planet 2 also is Playstation Move compatible and comes with the downloadable game Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves.

Little Big Planet 2 is completely superior to the first game exponentially. The variety of tools and types of games that can be made were not possible on the first game and the ability to link levels makes level storage limits obsolete. The only gripe with Little Big Planet 2 is the game crashes a bit too often when trying to join or having people join online games. Other than that, the Little Big Planet 2 is a huge improvement for the creation game genre and the community at large and a must buy for those who have played the first Little Big Planet and for those new to the series and the genre.