Amazing, a huge step over the original LBP. Exciting minigames, a cinematic story, and way more possibilities in create
Story
There is much more of a story this time around in LittleBigPlanet 2. You'll first find yourself walking through craftworld (the name of the LBP universe) and suddenly a gigantic vacuum sucks up everything good. You get saved by the Alliance, and are in charge of taking down the Negativitron (the vacuum). You must gather up all Alliance members, and create a sackbot army to take back the good in craftworld. As you might have thought from that story, LittleBigPlanet 2 is a lot more cinematic this time around. A lot of the scenes they created WOWed me. From a spaceship crash from Negativitron, to a war, there is so much going on. I was scared before I got the game that they would lose the atmosphere of the LittleBigPlanet universe when I got LBP 2. But no need to fear, it's all there, only way way WAY better. The story levels include plenty of epic bossfights, loads of vehicles (Robobunny FTW!) and plenty of platforming. You have your mix of calm levels where it's just platforming fun, and varied, cinematic levels. You'll find yourself using cake to get through puzzles and rappel down from one platform to another, or you'll find yourself using a bee as a vehicle to maneuver through a level that resembles past games (you know, the pixelated-ish s-t-y-l-e it's hard to explain) which is my favorite story level by the way, or you'll find yourself entering into a human body to fight off a meanie infection (yes it's a contagious disease, but us folks here at PS3FC are immune to it). There is tons of variety in the story of LBP 2, you'll never find yourself getting bored in storymode, especially,ESPECIALLY with friends. As with LittleBigPlanet, if you have friends who have mics that play LBP 2, play the story with them. It makes it THAT much better! You can go to the secret parts of the level that require 2, 3, or 4 players(4 is max). It's still addicting to get all the prize bubbles for stickers, costumes and such, and the costumes are much better this time around also. What I found to be the biggest change for me was theminigames. Yes, the minigames, they were kind of just there in LittleBigPlanet. They were pretty fun. But in LittleBigPlanet 2 they're one of the best things about story mode. From rat races to surviving a wave of electrified donuts there is so much to do in the minigames. The higher the score, the more prize bubbles you get as there will be dispensers that only give you prize bubbles if you have a certain score (usually up to 3 per minigame, and the score needed is stated) so you always have something to aim for. A bumper kart minigame, a puzzle where you have to get 2 sackbots to a greenlight but there is a mix up in controls, I just can't begin to say how important and fun minigames are now. The story mode was very memorable and I had loads of fun playing with 3 other close friends (again, I very highly stress that having friends play it with you makes it so much more fun).
Graphics
The graphics are much sharper this time around, it wasn't noticeable (for me) in LBP 1 but when comparing the two games, LBP seemed to have a certain blurryness to it that LBP 2 didn't. Everything looks better, of course it's not a graphical leap, but the difference is noticeable. But nothing to be raving about, the fire looks the same, plasma, electricity, I feel that the water seems to have a more realistic feel to it in LBP 2. I may be wrong though, but that's just what I felt when playing. You still have the charm of LBP in there, the atmosphere, everything. Only sharper .
Online
Okay, WOW where do I start. If you played LittleBigPlanet and thought that had amazing levels wait till you play number 2. This isn't just an amped up LittleBigPlanet, oh no, this is so much more. See this?
believe it or not, but this is a LittleBigPlanet 2 level. Someone remade c-l-a-s-s-ical zelda, and put it on there I forgot his/her name but I hearted that creator and the level. This isn't just one stage, and it isn't easy. You all the items listed on the top left and need keys to get through doors. You have different creatures to kill, and you have your sword and such. This IS c-l-a-s-s-i-c Zelda, only in LittleBigPlanet 2. Remember, this is still not even a month after the release of the game and this is what is available to us. It's amazing! All 3 million LBP 1 levels are there (don't worry, they're marked with a tree icon so you know they are LBP 1 and not LBP 2) and for those who aren't familiar with LBP, there is pretty much anything online. Do you want to survive a bombing attack from above while inside a 30-story building? There is a level for that. Do you want to survive a shark attack? There is a level for that. Play through an RPG where you can be a knight or mage with friends? There's a level for that. Do you want to see Windows XP with fully working minigames and desktop, and cursor? There is a level for that. Kart racers, FPS', movies, whatever crosses your mind, you can either make, or play online. It's thanks to the fantastic community that we have all of this. The rating system is gone in LBP 2, all you have now is either a like or unlike button (a smily face and a sad face). You can leave your own reviews and they are also placed on your public profile. The game is much more social this time around, there is the in-game achievement system called Pins that are much like trophies where you unlock them for doing certain things and reaching big feats. I absolutely love it, and this allows there to be loads of achievements without making it difficult for a platinum since they aren't trophies. There is also an RPG concept called Omicron Neon City:
as if that isn't amazing enough, but in one part of the game you actually go in a car ride through a full working city, you don't control the car because the level is still not complete, not even close. But there are other cars, the buildings, etc. If you can actually go into buildings and ride through the city when the level is finished, then WOW. There are more RPG concepts with fully working inventories and an upgrade system, top-down FF-like (only not turn based) RPG's. There are concepts where you control Iron Man or Cole from Infamous, or Spiderman, and actually have their powers. There are lots of musicals, movies, everything. Stuff you wouldn't even imagine in LBP 1 are here in LBP 2. I can't wait until all of these concepts come to life! It took time for LBP users to get the hang of create and find ways to get the most out of the space given. It also took time to find tricks that make levels amazing, heck, people already made 3D levels (but using the red and blue glasses). Believe me when they say "endless fun" in those LBP commercials they really mean it. It's very easy to make a series for a level because now you can link levels. If you want to go from Part 1 to Part 2, you don't need to quit, just put a level link into Part 1 and link it to Part 2. The party leader just presses "triangle" when everyone is at the link (which looks like a completely plain checkpoint) and it will directly zip them away to part 2. People made their own "home" levels where you go in there and it's like a cafe or house, and they have all of their levels linked throughout the place. It's interesting. Remember, all of this, only in one month. There are already 20, 000 levels posted, and the level standards have skyrocketed.
Create
I find that the Create mode this time around is a bit harder, but at the same time easier. It's harder in a way that there is a lot more advanced mechanics such as microchips and sackbots, that, when used correctly, can have amazing results. It's also easier in a way that you can get so much done a lot faster. What made making LBP levels hard for me wasn't that it was advanced, it was just that it took forever to make just one thing. I'd lose inspiration, and make a lazy level. What used to take an hour (depending on what it is) now takes 10 minutes in LBP 2. I especially love the concept of circuit boards. With circuit boards you can have "logic" in everything. Do you want something to make a noise and explode when a player grabs it? Just simply add a circuit board and hook up everything accordingly. I don't want to go too in-depth into it all since there is so much and only the tutorials can cover it perfectly. But I mean it when I say almost anything is possible when you're experienced with circuit boards. You can make something do what you want, when you want, or be what you want, just simply by attaching a circuit board and then hooking up different buttons to add "logic" to your level and designs. Also you can completely layout the controls to your liking. Do you want a giant tank that makes cool noises while you press R1 to move forward, L1 to move back, X to fire, and the D-PAD to move? All can be done with, you guessed it, a circuit board! It's much easier to find what you want in your popit since you can simply tap L3 (AKA push the left joystick in so you hear a "click") and doing so makes your popit expand to fit the entire screen. You can imagine that this makes everything easier and better to navigate through. If you had trouble making levels in LBP, try making them in number 2. I guarantee better results. Heck, you may just become a great creator and make another fantastic level like the ones I showcased above.
In the end, how can I not give LBP 2 a 10/10? while the other reviews are 9s I'm a huge LBP fan and don't know how this deserves a 9 when you have an amazing story, the ability to make anything you want (any genre) and completely change everything, you can customize your moon and earth, you have the PIN system that works great, your levels can be advertised online, the possibilities are endless. What I wonder about is if, how, and when LBP 3 will come out. Because, to be honest, I most definitely do NOT want a third LBP. Why? because this isn't like other games, LBP 2 is a game that needs years and years of support. It's like a console in itself, there are so many ways you can get the most out of one level, we may not even need another LBP till next gen. We need something completely fresh and new, the last thing we need are constant LBP sequels. That's all for today folks, have a great day PS3FC members!