| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| PlayStation 3 | 9.50 |
| Overall | 9.50 |
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How do you follow up the most original, groundbreaking, most awesome idea turned into game ever... well make it bigger and better of course. Little Big Planet 2 does outdo the original in almost every way offering more ways to play and create than ever before. But I found that with this series in particular you get out of it as much as you put in, thus my reaction to playing this game is very different than the experience I had with the original. The additions to the game are huge genre breaking additions that allow users to not just make platformers but all sorts of games. The biggest change comes with the controllinator which allows the user to make objects that can be controlled with the controller allowing you to make spaceships or characters with many different options for actions. There are a bunch of power ups added to the platforming levels making this game feel a lot more like a Mario game. The variety of gameplay is staggering, seriously it is hard to put into words how many different kinds of actions and levels are possible. All these additions make the original seem almost like a prototype in comparison. The campaign acts like a giant tutorial for all the new additions to the game. It feels like a tornado of varied gameplay elements strung together. I actually enjoyed the originals more traditional approach to platforming as those levels had a good feeling of progression allowing the platforming elements to grow. This games levels basically introduce a new mechanic each level and that level shows you how to use it, you move on to the next thing on the next level forgetting what you just used previously. I understand why they did this, it is to show users all the possibilities for user levels but it makes the campaign feel like a super awesome tutorial. It is still a ton of fun with great music, a better story than the first and mini games that are a blast to play. There is a larger emphasis on two player scoring mini levels this time around, the game calls them versus levels. These levels feel like old school arcade games offering high score challenges. This makes the game more fun to play with others than ever before. Of course the best part of LBP is the ability to create levels and share them. You have access to the 2 million LBP1 levels and now there are probably 2 million more LBP2 levels. They shouldn't even be called levels anymore as some have made entire games. There are things that don't even resemble LBP, I don't understand how it is possible. And that is the beauty, it's not just about playing fun levels it is about admiring the art of making these levels. The users are artists using the games tools to create pieces that I appreciate on a whole different level than just is this fun or not. This is a never ending game, there will be so much content you will never see it all. Sadly the issues that plagued the original all return. Most noticeable are the floaty jumping controls which not a good thing to have for a platformer. There are ways to adjust the gravity of the jump but it never feels natural like the best platformers do. The online net code is still rather rough making connecting with others too much of a chore. And as much as MM tries to make the user tools easy to use, making level is still way too complex and a very time consuming process. LBP2 offers so much more of what I loved about LBP1. It really is a huge improvement in many ways, very much worthy of being a full priced sequel. Something happened this time though, I did not invest my time into this game like I did the original. Maybe it was that the idea is not as original anymore. A lot of it is probably the fact that I started to play Mass Effect 2 which totally blew me away. I did not finish the level I was making. I did not spend over 200 hours exploring user levels. I did not meet up with friends online every night to see what new content there was like I did with the original. I can see how ones opinion of the game will change dramatically depending on how much they put in. I was 100% invested into the original, I can't say the same for this one and so it did not leave that same lasting impression. This is a hard game to judge cause you mostly aren't judging a game but a tool set, almost it's own virtual console with it's own set of games to play. What I do know is that there is no better value in all of gaming and the game is still an absolute blast to play. |
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Posted by Dvader Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:48:07
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phantom_leo (7m)
Really? The story was terrible compared to the first, becuase the first one didn't get in the way. Long cutscenes in LBP? Please no.
Replaying levels the terrible design of the campaign really comes through. The first world (which is boring)is the only one that holds up in multiple playthroughs. The rest are boring as hell due to being completely devoid of good design.
Yeah, yeah, online levels, but I still haven't found any online levels that are as good as the best levels of LBP1. Plus it's impossible to play them online with a friend due to the lag, and you've got to wait so long for them to load.
Great review, though.