FA+
Shop
"The Jet Gamer" Game Review: Little Big Planet 2
10 years ago
This will be the final one of this series that I go through as I bought these three games all together as a package deal back before Christmas. After this one, I'll be going to other series, so stay tuned for more guys. =)
Little Big Planet 2
Here we go yet again with this series as we once again dive into the little big planet universe, this time with the true sequel to the original LBP game with Little Big Planet 2. The first one was very popular due to its create mode, which was the main reason this series has continued to impress people and still be made today. Though last time, there were some very lackluster things in the previous game that weren't so great. How does the sequel compare to the original? Well, let's see if there are any improvements here shall we?
Gameplay
The gameplay is pretty similar to the last game, but there does seem to be some added elements to the game to keep it from getting too boring like last time where it was the same thing over and over again. You still mainly are doing a 2.5D platformer in most of the levels, but there are plenty of ways they have changed it up, such as side scroll shooting stages, levels where you ride certain animals, and also trying to solve puzzles with little sackbots that are running around the levels. These are certainly good ways of changing the game up, so that each level isn't exactly the same where you are running right the entire time. This is very welcome when you are playing alone as the levels do have to be interesting and do need to change up the way they play to keep it interesting. Those that are playing single player will enjoy this change up, but at the same time, the creative features of the first game are still there and just as good as they always were. If you have the internet features enabled in this game, you will once again get all the fun of creating your own levels, or just downloading levels online to either expand your single player experience or to play online with your friends or other people out there in the world as you go through many of the levels that are out there for players to enjoy. However, in the single player game, while the platforming element is still good, and the added elements that I explained already do make the game better, the game is still heavily multiplayer based, so single player games are severely limited, unless you are willing or able to use the online features of the game. There are still spots in many of the levels as well that require two to four players to get all the prizes in a level, so if you are playing on your own, getting all the prizes is impossible, so keep that in mind. Really, the big thing with this game is still that its a multiplayer game, so do keep that in mind before you buy or rent this game.
Story
I have to say, I was actually slightly surprised this time after playing the last two LBP games that I have recently played, that the single player story mode is actually improved in this game. It isn't the best story around, but it is actually a better story this time. The negativatron, a giant vacuum cleaner is trying to suck up everything and sackboy and a group of other inhabitants of the LBP are trying to stop it from destroying everything. The fact that there is a more legit story this time and each area does at least somewhat connect the story back to the ultimate goal is a pleasant change in the story of the game. The game is still a bit out there, and not everything makes sense though, so there will be points you will be wondering why you are doing certain things in the game, but for the most part, I would say it is a pleasant change that they made the story mode something you actually want to see through rather than wondering the entire time why you are doing what you are doing. You actually have some motivation this time to get through the game to see what happens. Though the story is pretty predictable and you likely know what happens in the end, which even then isn't as fulfilling as you would like it to be. It is a story you likely won't come back to in the future, but after the last games story mode, they at least tried in this one and that is a very good thing in an area that was so lacking before.
Graphics
Once again, the game is still quite the treat to look at overall. It is pretty much the same art style and graphics of the last game, so there is little change here, but when it works, it works. Yet, because of new styles of gameplay, they did occasionally change the graphics to fit the situation as there are some areas that are more 2D and retro in some areas and it does show how well this style can fit that when the fabric type graphics are already simplistic, they tend to match those styles quite well. The cut-scenes are well done as well, and you can easily tell that anyone could make a lot of them as well, as the cut-scenes use the same level graphics as you see in the entire game. That is the big plus for the creators as you can create the same type of cut-scenes you see in the main game for yourself. Overall, the graphics work, though little has changed since last time.
Sound
This is another area I think there has been improvement since the original game as many of the tunes you will encounter during LBP2 is actually quite nice. Just like in my last LBP review, the music in many levels is sort of like remixes of common music you would hear out there. There is more than one time in the game where you will hear classic music being played in the background, but slightly remixed so as to not simply copy the classic music. Still, when you hear music that sounds familiar it is a nice little distraction for you while you are playing the game. Even then, the music that isn't just remixes of classic music, all sounds nice and does become something you are likely to hum as you are playing the stages, which as I said before is a good thing when you are playing a side scrolling platforming game like LBP. The sound effects are pretty much exactly the same as the other game though so do expect nothing new in the sound effects department, but it still does it's job and is a good thing to listen to over all as you will know what the sounds are meant for and they won't really confuse you or make you feel like they don't belong at all.
Control
The controls in the game are still basic and do the job well enough for the most part. When you are going through levels, jumping, while still a little slick at times, does the job well enough. Throwing things, carrying things and navigating things seem to be good for most of the game as well. One of the biggest things with the controls in this game really does come in the form of the grappling hook accessory in the game. It is very unresponsive, and there is no way to keep it from going in and out as you are trying to swing on it which makes swinging with the grappling hook to get into to tricky areas near impossible at times. Unless you master the grappling hook, there are some areas in this game which you are likely not going to get to at all. Yet, with how tricky the grappling hook is to control, it will bring you great frustration on the levels where it is needed, which does include one of the boss levels in the game, which was a frustrating level overall with how the grappling hook was so tricky to control at times. Other than this, the controls aren't bad by any means, but they could be a bit tighter and less slick.
Replay Value
Once again, the single player story mode of the game is really not something you want to come back to that often, unless you are achievement hunting possibly. It really does tend to be something you through once and then really don't go through much again after this. Again, LBP is all about the online downloading and playing with friends to get its replay value. This again is a bit of a turn off to the single player gamer, but for the gamer with many friends or fast internet, you will get lots of fun playing with others. That just goes to show you that still, this game is more of a friends and online game than something you would want to play with on your own. Sure, there are plenty of single player levels you can download as well, if you have internet available, but because of the heavy reliance on online and having friends for the game, it does still bump it down just a little bit. I can't bump it down too much though as there is still a lot here for those that can access these features.
Overall, Little Big Planet 2 is an improvement over the original, so I would say for a sequel it does its job of proving more of what the original brought people, while adding enough to keep people coming back while at the same time improving on some of the low points as well. I would say this is a successful sequel and one that people should consider if they have friends and fast online to get the full experience from the game. If you lack either of those, you can still get some fun out of the game, but you will be missing the full experience, which I'm sure I have been. If you lack these things, only buy this game for a quick fun experience, don't expect to spend tons of hours with it, unless you really get into designing your own levels.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Little Big Planet 2 an eight out of ten.
Gameplay: 8
Story: 7
Graphics: 9
Sound: 9
Control: 7
Replay Value: 8
Overall: 8
Little Big Planet 2
Here we go yet again with this series as we once again dive into the little big planet universe, this time with the true sequel to the original LBP game with Little Big Planet 2. The first one was very popular due to its create mode, which was the main reason this series has continued to impress people and still be made today. Though last time, there were some very lackluster things in the previous game that weren't so great. How does the sequel compare to the original? Well, let's see if there are any improvements here shall we?
Gameplay
The gameplay is pretty similar to the last game, but there does seem to be some added elements to the game to keep it from getting too boring like last time where it was the same thing over and over again. You still mainly are doing a 2.5D platformer in most of the levels, but there are plenty of ways they have changed it up, such as side scroll shooting stages, levels where you ride certain animals, and also trying to solve puzzles with little sackbots that are running around the levels. These are certainly good ways of changing the game up, so that each level isn't exactly the same where you are running right the entire time. This is very welcome when you are playing alone as the levels do have to be interesting and do need to change up the way they play to keep it interesting. Those that are playing single player will enjoy this change up, but at the same time, the creative features of the first game are still there and just as good as they always were. If you have the internet features enabled in this game, you will once again get all the fun of creating your own levels, or just downloading levels online to either expand your single player experience or to play online with your friends or other people out there in the world as you go through many of the levels that are out there for players to enjoy. However, in the single player game, while the platforming element is still good, and the added elements that I explained already do make the game better, the game is still heavily multiplayer based, so single player games are severely limited, unless you are willing or able to use the online features of the game. There are still spots in many of the levels as well that require two to four players to get all the prizes in a level, so if you are playing on your own, getting all the prizes is impossible, so keep that in mind. Really, the big thing with this game is still that its a multiplayer game, so do keep that in mind before you buy or rent this game.
Story
I have to say, I was actually slightly surprised this time after playing the last two LBP games that I have recently played, that the single player story mode is actually improved in this game. It isn't the best story around, but it is actually a better story this time. The negativatron, a giant vacuum cleaner is trying to suck up everything and sackboy and a group of other inhabitants of the LBP are trying to stop it from destroying everything. The fact that there is a more legit story this time and each area does at least somewhat connect the story back to the ultimate goal is a pleasant change in the story of the game. The game is still a bit out there, and not everything makes sense though, so there will be points you will be wondering why you are doing certain things in the game, but for the most part, I would say it is a pleasant change that they made the story mode something you actually want to see through rather than wondering the entire time why you are doing what you are doing. You actually have some motivation this time to get through the game to see what happens. Though the story is pretty predictable and you likely know what happens in the end, which even then isn't as fulfilling as you would like it to be. It is a story you likely won't come back to in the future, but after the last games story mode, they at least tried in this one and that is a very good thing in an area that was so lacking before.
Graphics
Once again, the game is still quite the treat to look at overall. It is pretty much the same art style and graphics of the last game, so there is little change here, but when it works, it works. Yet, because of new styles of gameplay, they did occasionally change the graphics to fit the situation as there are some areas that are more 2D and retro in some areas and it does show how well this style can fit that when the fabric type graphics are already simplistic, they tend to match those styles quite well. The cut-scenes are well done as well, and you can easily tell that anyone could make a lot of them as well, as the cut-scenes use the same level graphics as you see in the entire game. That is the big plus for the creators as you can create the same type of cut-scenes you see in the main game for yourself. Overall, the graphics work, though little has changed since last time.
Sound
This is another area I think there has been improvement since the original game as many of the tunes you will encounter during LBP2 is actually quite nice. Just like in my last LBP review, the music in many levels is sort of like remixes of common music you would hear out there. There is more than one time in the game where you will hear classic music being played in the background, but slightly remixed so as to not simply copy the classic music. Still, when you hear music that sounds familiar it is a nice little distraction for you while you are playing the game. Even then, the music that isn't just remixes of classic music, all sounds nice and does become something you are likely to hum as you are playing the stages, which as I said before is a good thing when you are playing a side scrolling platforming game like LBP. The sound effects are pretty much exactly the same as the other game though so do expect nothing new in the sound effects department, but it still does it's job and is a good thing to listen to over all as you will know what the sounds are meant for and they won't really confuse you or make you feel like they don't belong at all.
Control
The controls in the game are still basic and do the job well enough for the most part. When you are going through levels, jumping, while still a little slick at times, does the job well enough. Throwing things, carrying things and navigating things seem to be good for most of the game as well. One of the biggest things with the controls in this game really does come in the form of the grappling hook accessory in the game. It is very unresponsive, and there is no way to keep it from going in and out as you are trying to swing on it which makes swinging with the grappling hook to get into to tricky areas near impossible at times. Unless you master the grappling hook, there are some areas in this game which you are likely not going to get to at all. Yet, with how tricky the grappling hook is to control, it will bring you great frustration on the levels where it is needed, which does include one of the boss levels in the game, which was a frustrating level overall with how the grappling hook was so tricky to control at times. Other than this, the controls aren't bad by any means, but they could be a bit tighter and less slick.
Replay Value
Once again, the single player story mode of the game is really not something you want to come back to that often, unless you are achievement hunting possibly. It really does tend to be something you through once and then really don't go through much again after this. Again, LBP is all about the online downloading and playing with friends to get its replay value. This again is a bit of a turn off to the single player gamer, but for the gamer with many friends or fast internet, you will get lots of fun playing with others. That just goes to show you that still, this game is more of a friends and online game than something you would want to play with on your own. Sure, there are plenty of single player levels you can download as well, if you have internet available, but because of the heavy reliance on online and having friends for the game, it does still bump it down just a little bit. I can't bump it down too much though as there is still a lot here for those that can access these features.
Overall, Little Big Planet 2 is an improvement over the original, so I would say for a sequel it does its job of proving more of what the original brought people, while adding enough to keep people coming back while at the same time improving on some of the low points as well. I would say this is a successful sequel and one that people should consider if they have friends and fast online to get the full experience from the game. If you lack either of those, you can still get some fun out of the game, but you will be missing the full experience, which I'm sure I have been. If you lack these things, only buy this game for a quick fun experience, don't expect to spend tons of hours with it, unless you really get into designing your own levels.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Little Big Planet 2 an eight out of ten.
Gameplay: 8
Story: 7
Graphics: 9
Sound: 9
Control: 7
Replay Value: 8
Overall: 8
