BENGALURU: Let me be completely honest here — I wasn’t crazy about the original LittleBigPlanet. Oh, it was a brilliant concept and a stellar package, sure; and the stuff the community came up with (ahem...NSFW levels aside) was nothing short of mindblowing. But the core game’s platforming never really managed to capture my interest and, apart from some occasional co-op griefing, LittleBigPlanet never got much playtime out of me.
So what did I make of its successor? Well, LittleBigPlanet 2 certainly did itself no harm when it was announced to the world with one of my favourite trailers of 2010 (seriously, go search for it!). And I had no doubt that people would once again take the new tools Media Molecule was handing out and create some unbelievable things. But that wasn’t what I was worried about, at any rate. I guess my main concern was that I wanted LittleBigPlanet 2 to be more of a game. And boy, did it deliver.
Let’s start with the basics — once again, you play as Sackboy and this time, you’re out to save LittleBigPlanet from the evil Negativitron and...okay, time for honesty once again. None of that matters. Sure,the story is serviceable but it is not what you’re going to remember about this game.What you’ll remember is that LittleBigPlanet 2, just like its predecessor, was narrated by Stephen Fry; and, really, whoever at Media Molecule made that happen is a certified genius.
What you’ll remember are all the shiny new upgrades from the first one, especially Sackbots — which are essentially customisable non-player characters! — which can be used in some truly astounding ways.
What you’ll remember are levels that will have you, quite literally, on the edge of your seat because you have no idea what’s happening, no idea what’s going to happen next but quite sure that you don’t want it to stop. (Tower of Whoop, I’m looking at you!)
LittleBigPlanet 2 is not going to be everybody’s cup of tea. If you didn’t like the first game, it’s worth trying this — remember, I didn’t care for it either. If, however, you didn’t like the concept of what LittleBigPlanet was trying to do, then you might not be swayed by its sequel. It is a shame, honestly — while I never fancied it much as a game in itself, the original LittleBigPlanet was one of the best things to happen to gaming in the last few years. As a portal to the sheer creativity of gamers everywhere, it was simply unmatched.
LittleBigPlanet 2 is not as groundbreaking as its predecessor (although there’s not much in it!). What it is is phenomenal and addictive and...before I drown you in a bunch of adjectives, let me summarise by saying — while I’ve been writing this review, I’ve gone back and checked out one level that I remembered and then another and another. And then I look up and it’s 2 am and LittleBigPlanet 2’s somehow managed to worm its sneaky little way into my heart again.
If you’d like
explore a charming and whimsical world
engage in some daredevil platforming and general derring-do
sit back and relax with one of the most light-hearted games you’ll ever play
...you should visit LittleBigPlanet 2!
Arjun Sukumaran
http://goo.gl/uNBWN3
(Arjun is a gamer, book lover and an all-round renaissance man)