Little Big Planet 2
There’s not many times a hands-on preview of a game makes me feel completely different about it. But my time with Little Big Planet 2 the other day did just that.
As someone who loved the idea of the first game but never had the time, patience or ability to create anything really interesting, the idea of an updated experience with some simpler tools was very compelling. So much so I’ve put together a Little Big Planet 2 guide to explain why I’m so excited.
Sackgirl Fluffy
Little Big Planet 2 is two things. Most obviously it’s a platform game with endearing visuals and varied game play. Harder to grasp though, it’s also a tool to create your own video games. The first game struggled to communicate all this, but still won through with an avid online community creating millions of their own levels. Little Big Planet 2 both builds on this success and makes it simple enough for the masses to enjoy.
Little Big Planet 2 simple looks and works like nothing else. From its handmade patchwork aesthetic to its real world physics, it creates an amiable intriguing world straight out of the pages of a fairy tale. It’s all Little Big Planet was and more, this time picking up varied themed worlds from different periods in history.
Beyond this however it is the video game creation mode that is most unique. This time around Sackbots let you create your own video game enemies with just a few presses. Direct Control Seats mean that you can build games around control of any object in the world, not just Sackboy. Finally for those hugely complex creations, Microchips and Circuit boards let you construct complex logic with less fuss and resources.
Sackboy Grapple Hook
But more than this. For my family I want to use these new tools to create games with them, and about them. I know my kids would love to star in their own game, and although the Mii’s and Avatars come close – seeing their own photo’s smiling back while they raced around game land would make them giggle for sure.
I was really impressed how well Media Molecule seems to know their audience. And not just the hardcore gamers who have created 2 million levels (and counting) since the release of the first game, but those more casual players who never quite made it aboard the good ship Little Big Planet.
Now that you can create almost any kind of game in Little Big Planet 2, what do you think you would create for your family? I’m going for a full family shoot ’em up first of all – kids, parents and grandparents included.
