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"The Jet Gamer" Game Review: Little Big Planet Karting
10 years ago
Another one so quickly? This one wasn't a very long game, so it isn't odd that I have another one so soon for you guys to read. I hope you enjoy guys =)
Little Big Planet Karting
Another LBP game so soon? Well I did buy several of them in a close together proximity to each other, so while I was still fresh on the other one, I took to doing yet another one of the games in the series that I bought. This is where we get into Little Big Planet Karting. This time, instead of a platforming game, sackboy is part of a custom karting game that is in the same style as the regular little big planet series. How well does this series translate into a kart racing game? Is it any good? Let's all find out together.
Gameplay
As you would expect from a racing game, the game is all about driving around different shape tracks against seven AI opponents or with some additional players if you play the game in multiplayer mode. You run three laps of each course following the same paths on some courses, while others will have alternate paths that will open up on later laps of the races. Yet, this is where Little Big Planet Karting does do something nice, in that you don't spend the whole game just doing the same racing types. There are battle mode maps, where the goal is to get the most hits on the other karts, there are checkpoint races where your goal is to go through a set number of checkpoints before time runs out, then finally there are a few boss battle maps, where you have to defeat a large boss character within a set time limit or with a limit number of deaths on your part. The fact that this game changes it up from time to time and doesn't always use the same methods of playing the game is a welcome change to some karting games where it is nothing but the same kind of thing over and over again unless you play multiplayer modes. Though the AI is a bit on the aggressive side in this game, since the weapons on the tracks are pretty aggressive as well. It is very easy to go from first to last in this game because of the weapons, which can be both a good thing for you and bad thing for you as it can easily cost you races at the last moment that you have dominated up until the very end where you got hit several times in a row. Another thing with the game that is both a positive and a minus is the rubber-band effect, that plagues many racing games is only partially in effect here. It is free in the fact that racers aren't glued to their positions to where they can only finish in a set position every time. However, the part where the racers are slower or faster depending on how well or bad you are doing does seem to be in effect. There are times where I would place in the same position, despite when I was and wasn't trying. That goes to show you that the rubber-band effect was there in this game, which is a bit of a negative to me. The rubber-band effect really does make and break some games, and the fact it is here, even partially in effect here, it does have an effect here, if only for a bit. There is also the create mode that is included in all LBP games, and it is no different here. The big difference here is you are in a large 3D world creating a racing track instead of a platformer, which does change it up a bit, but the numerous options are still open to the people to make and experiment with all the levels they could ever want.
Story
Wow, this is a bit of a joke to me. While the game is fun overall, the story is just a laughable joke in this game. It is one thing to want to create a basic story, but when you go to such a basic premise and then have almost none of the story in the game make any sense or really have any connection to where it is just randomness all over the place, I think it takes away a lot from the experience of the game. The story pretty much is you as the sackboy are trying to stop a bunch of evil looking sack enemies that are running around tearing up the world just for the fun of it. That is about it. There is a story to each world, but they don't connect at all really, other than the bad guys being on each world. The stories of each world really are the most random things you could think of and really has almost nothing to do with the fact that these evil sack guys are tearing up their worlds. This is just a joke to me. I'm glad there is a story in a racing game, which is a good thing, but the fact they made the story such a joke is just unacceptable in my eyes. If you are going to create a story, at least have the characters sort of acknowledge the bad guys more than just occasionally.
Graphics
Just like the original LBP game, this game is still great to look at the entire time through it. The fabric look definitely shows how it can make things look beautiful, even if it is a bit unconventional. It's almost hard to explain it at times, but really, you are always looking at the many items that have been placed along side the tracks. The environments look great and the worlds are very believable and match their themes perfectly. I see next to no lag in the game, so slowdown is not something you have to worry about either. I don't see blurry graphics or really any glitches to speak of either. Other than the fact that the graphics are a bit unconventional, I would say the graphics are very good, so do expect to look at them and admire them.
Sound
Unlike the last LBP game where the music was very forgettable, this time, the music is actually quite nice to listen to this time. I actually did want to hear it, as some of the music was remixes of classic musics, while some of the original stuff was quite nice to listen to this time. For a racing game, having good music is definitely something to consider, which a platformer may not always feel the need to meet. This time, you are likely to be humming the tunes as you are going around the track, and that's what you want for a racing game. In a game where the main thing you are going to be doing is racing in circles around a track, having a great sound track to listen to while you are doing it, helps to break the monotony. If the music in a racing game was bad, the game would become monotonous very quickly, which luckily this one doesn't suffer from at all. You will enjoy the sound track. It is catchy and does its job rather well.
Control
The control for the game is pretty good for the most part. When you turn the kart, it will go where you want it to go, and shooting other karts with your weapons seems to work very well too. When racing, for the most part you aren't going to have any troubles moving around. Drifting however is something that you will have some troubles with however. While drifting is a part of the game, and it does offer you a boost, for the most part, many of the tracks really don't need you to drift. Yet, at the same time, drifting can occasionally not work right and you will drift in the wrong directions. If this is my own error, I would accept this, but it happened many times, and several times when I did try using the drifting mechanics, it seemed to slow me down more often than it helped me speed up in the end. The game really just didn't seem like it was made with drifting in mind the whole time, or you weren't really supposed to use it as much as I would try and use it sometimes. Really, your best bet is to try and race normally without the drift unless the turn is very tight, otherwise, just race normal.
Replay Value
The replay value for Karting I feel is exactly the same as LBP planet was before it. While the replay value isn't as high as I rate it to me, the fact I'm not really using the online features to download any of the millions of tracks out there that people have made does sort of bump it down for me in my eyes. However, since there are so many tracks out there, it would be unfair of me to rate it any lower than this and the review remain fair in my eyes. When it comes to story mode, the races are still fun and worth going back to occasionally, especially the alternate modes compared to the regular races, but that's just it like it was in LBP. Once you complete the story mode of the game, unless you do online, that's the end of the game unless you replay any of those same levels over again or you spend time in the level creators. The level creators can be fun, but it won't be fun for everyone. You really do need online features to make these games last longer than a few days, so do keep that in mind before you buy them.
Overall, I would say to me at least Little Big Planet Karting was a bit better than normal Little Big Planet, but only by so much. Really, the main thing with these games as I have quickly discovered really is the fact you have to want to play them online or have online features to get the most out of the games. If you don't use or have those available, then these games really are more of a temporary game, whereas if you have the online features of these games available, you are in for a lot more gameplay if that is what your aim out of the game is after all. So in the end, if you are wanting a quick game experiencing play story mode, but if you want more, activate your online features in the game.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Little Big Planet Karting a seven point five out of ten.
Gameplay: 8
Story: 3
Graphics: 9
Sound: 9
Control: 8
Replay Value: 8
Overall: 7.5
Little Big Planet Karting
Another LBP game so soon? Well I did buy several of them in a close together proximity to each other, so while I was still fresh on the other one, I took to doing yet another one of the games in the series that I bought. This is where we get into Little Big Planet Karting. This time, instead of a platforming game, sackboy is part of a custom karting game that is in the same style as the regular little big planet series. How well does this series translate into a kart racing game? Is it any good? Let's all find out together.
Gameplay
As you would expect from a racing game, the game is all about driving around different shape tracks against seven AI opponents or with some additional players if you play the game in multiplayer mode. You run three laps of each course following the same paths on some courses, while others will have alternate paths that will open up on later laps of the races. Yet, this is where Little Big Planet Karting does do something nice, in that you don't spend the whole game just doing the same racing types. There are battle mode maps, where the goal is to get the most hits on the other karts, there are checkpoint races where your goal is to go through a set number of checkpoints before time runs out, then finally there are a few boss battle maps, where you have to defeat a large boss character within a set time limit or with a limit number of deaths on your part. The fact that this game changes it up from time to time and doesn't always use the same methods of playing the game is a welcome change to some karting games where it is nothing but the same kind of thing over and over again unless you play multiplayer modes. Though the AI is a bit on the aggressive side in this game, since the weapons on the tracks are pretty aggressive as well. It is very easy to go from first to last in this game because of the weapons, which can be both a good thing for you and bad thing for you as it can easily cost you races at the last moment that you have dominated up until the very end where you got hit several times in a row. Another thing with the game that is both a positive and a minus is the rubber-band effect, that plagues many racing games is only partially in effect here. It is free in the fact that racers aren't glued to their positions to where they can only finish in a set position every time. However, the part where the racers are slower or faster depending on how well or bad you are doing does seem to be in effect. There are times where I would place in the same position, despite when I was and wasn't trying. That goes to show you that the rubber-band effect was there in this game, which is a bit of a negative to me. The rubber-band effect really does make and break some games, and the fact it is here, even partially in effect here, it does have an effect here, if only for a bit. There is also the create mode that is included in all LBP games, and it is no different here. The big difference here is you are in a large 3D world creating a racing track instead of a platformer, which does change it up a bit, but the numerous options are still open to the people to make and experiment with all the levels they could ever want.
Story
Wow, this is a bit of a joke to me. While the game is fun overall, the story is just a laughable joke in this game. It is one thing to want to create a basic story, but when you go to such a basic premise and then have almost none of the story in the game make any sense or really have any connection to where it is just randomness all over the place, I think it takes away a lot from the experience of the game. The story pretty much is you as the sackboy are trying to stop a bunch of evil looking sack enemies that are running around tearing up the world just for the fun of it. That is about it. There is a story to each world, but they don't connect at all really, other than the bad guys being on each world. The stories of each world really are the most random things you could think of and really has almost nothing to do with the fact that these evil sack guys are tearing up their worlds. This is just a joke to me. I'm glad there is a story in a racing game, which is a good thing, but the fact they made the story such a joke is just unacceptable in my eyes. If you are going to create a story, at least have the characters sort of acknowledge the bad guys more than just occasionally.
Graphics
Just like the original LBP game, this game is still great to look at the entire time through it. The fabric look definitely shows how it can make things look beautiful, even if it is a bit unconventional. It's almost hard to explain it at times, but really, you are always looking at the many items that have been placed along side the tracks. The environments look great and the worlds are very believable and match their themes perfectly. I see next to no lag in the game, so slowdown is not something you have to worry about either. I don't see blurry graphics or really any glitches to speak of either. Other than the fact that the graphics are a bit unconventional, I would say the graphics are very good, so do expect to look at them and admire them.
Sound
Unlike the last LBP game where the music was very forgettable, this time, the music is actually quite nice to listen to this time. I actually did want to hear it, as some of the music was remixes of classic musics, while some of the original stuff was quite nice to listen to this time. For a racing game, having good music is definitely something to consider, which a platformer may not always feel the need to meet. This time, you are likely to be humming the tunes as you are going around the track, and that's what you want for a racing game. In a game where the main thing you are going to be doing is racing in circles around a track, having a great sound track to listen to while you are doing it, helps to break the monotony. If the music in a racing game was bad, the game would become monotonous very quickly, which luckily this one doesn't suffer from at all. You will enjoy the sound track. It is catchy and does its job rather well.
Control
The control for the game is pretty good for the most part. When you turn the kart, it will go where you want it to go, and shooting other karts with your weapons seems to work very well too. When racing, for the most part you aren't going to have any troubles moving around. Drifting however is something that you will have some troubles with however. While drifting is a part of the game, and it does offer you a boost, for the most part, many of the tracks really don't need you to drift. Yet, at the same time, drifting can occasionally not work right and you will drift in the wrong directions. If this is my own error, I would accept this, but it happened many times, and several times when I did try using the drifting mechanics, it seemed to slow me down more often than it helped me speed up in the end. The game really just didn't seem like it was made with drifting in mind the whole time, or you weren't really supposed to use it as much as I would try and use it sometimes. Really, your best bet is to try and race normally without the drift unless the turn is very tight, otherwise, just race normal.
Replay Value
The replay value for Karting I feel is exactly the same as LBP planet was before it. While the replay value isn't as high as I rate it to me, the fact I'm not really using the online features to download any of the millions of tracks out there that people have made does sort of bump it down for me in my eyes. However, since there are so many tracks out there, it would be unfair of me to rate it any lower than this and the review remain fair in my eyes. When it comes to story mode, the races are still fun and worth going back to occasionally, especially the alternate modes compared to the regular races, but that's just it like it was in LBP. Once you complete the story mode of the game, unless you do online, that's the end of the game unless you replay any of those same levels over again or you spend time in the level creators. The level creators can be fun, but it won't be fun for everyone. You really do need online features to make these games last longer than a few days, so do keep that in mind before you buy them.
Overall, I would say to me at least Little Big Planet Karting was a bit better than normal Little Big Planet, but only by so much. Really, the main thing with these games as I have quickly discovered really is the fact you have to want to play them online or have online features to get the most out of the games. If you don't use or have those available, then these games really are more of a temporary game, whereas if you have the online features of these games available, you are in for a lot more gameplay if that is what your aim out of the game is after all. So in the end, if you are wanting a quick game experiencing play story mode, but if you want more, activate your online features in the game.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Little Big Planet Karting a seven point five out of ten.
Gameplay: 8
Story: 3
Graphics: 9
Sound: 9
Control: 8
Replay Value: 8
Overall: 7.5
