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Craftworld is under attack by an ominous creature called the Negativatron. It is all about destroying and sucking up all of the imagination and things created in Craftworld. Like some kind of Vacuum going through a three year olds room without regard for anything the poor little tyke has left on the floor.
Well the powers that be can't allow for their world to be destroyed and they have a nice little "underground" group set up to defend the world from these types of threats. Sackboy, as you have guessed it, is their new recruit and is tasked with helping to save Craftworld. Not to mention show off how to use the rest of the game's features for fun once the short story is over.
Not the most awesome of awesome storylines, but it fits well with what LittleBigPlanet is all about. A fun game that is engaging for children as well as challenging for the adults all with a nice little progression to show off some of the new items and features of the game without forcing you to sit through hours of tutorials. This of course is the best way to do it in my opinion. Hide all the game's tutorials in the Storyline play though. It's like having fun while you learn.
I will have to say though that the story is quite on the short side of things so don't expect to be playing the main path of the game for hours on end. I'd have to guess but I think I was able to get through it leisurely in around 5 hours of play. That includes going back through levels to collect more of the goodies to use in Create mode. But Story mode is only a third of the actual game.
Create
So now that you've hammered through the main story of the game, now what? Well just like the first game there is a level editor to make your own creations for people to play through. Although in LittleBigPlanet 2 it is more of a Game editor instead of just a basic level editor. There are so many more options added in that it is hard to believe that it isn't a full SDK like Unreal ED. Ok, well maybe that analogy is a little far, but it is close.
One of the largest additions to the game editor is the expanded logic system that players can manipulate to make some truly impressive game events. For those designers out there, think a very basic version of Kismet and you can get a basic idea of what is available when it comes to the game logic that you can create in LittleBigPlanet 2. For those of you who have no clue about that don't be discouraged as it is set up rather well for you to understand and do a lot of the basic stuff that people get paid the big bucks for.
So how is this a game editor just because of the expanded logic? Well the fact that you are no longer forced to create a side scrolling level for one. You can create a plethora of different game types that don't need to be that basic. Driving games, shooters, puzzle based and rhythm based are a few of the game types that I have seen from the minds and Media Molecule that have been added into the base game. But like the idea of the game itself, the limitation is your imagination.
It's nice and all that you can build mini-games with the engine, but I bet you are still thinking "How is it a full game editor still?" Well there is also a way to record or script your own cut scenes to help tell a story to the levels/games you have created. Mix that in with the ability to link levels together and you have a good chunk of tools to actually make something unique and interesting.
Share
Once all is said and done, the community levels and network are what make the bulk of the game here. While the story might be short and you may not want to spend all of your time making your own levels/games, there are an endless number of levels and mini-games out there to add onto the game. All for the low cost of signing into your PSN account too. This of course is nothing new to fans of the original game, but there are some cool new features that make surfing the 2 million plus extra levels a bit easier.
All of the searching has been simplified quite a bit allowing you to find levels to enjoy with great ease. Not to mention the fact that you can link this with the LittleBigPlanet website to find games to try out later. While it doesn't sound like much, it is a real timesaver to find something that sounds interesting while on a lunch break and have it pop up in your queue when you get home.
Also, what would be better than to have the people who monitor and play every one of these creations to tell you what is hot and what is not? There is a lot of crap on there for trophy-whores or the people trying to just get some fame by tricking people into voting their creations but Media Molecule wades through it all and lists out their top picks in a nice little section. This makes it extremely nice and easy to get to play good content with little difficulty.
Overall
So does LittleBigPlanet 2 size up to its predecessor? I'd totally say so and then some. While it does feel like there was way more effort placed into the Create portion of the game I wouldn't say that is a horrible thing. Yea for some people it will be dropping $60 for about five hours of game made by the studio but for those who will give everything LBP2 has to offer a try, there really is no end to the game. Be it from the user generated stuff to the new levels and games Media Molecule will most likely add.
If you have a PS3 and want a game that will never get old and is great for parties this is a must have in your collection. It isn't a perfect game, but you can easily get way over your monies worth out of it, as long as you don't play just the Story and call it a day.
LittleBigPlanet 2 was developed by Media Molecule and published by Sony Computer Entertainment on January 18th 2011 exclusively for the PlayStation 3. The game retails for $59.99. A copy of the game was supplied by the publisher for review purposes. I played through the main story path, took a shot at creating my own level and enjoyed many of the new levels made by the community.
