Anybody giving this game under a 9 has no business picking up a controller. Very little keeping this from a perfect 10..
Unless you have been living under a rock or an xbox fanboy magazine, you already know more than enough about this game. So I wont bore you with a detailed recap.
Where this game over exceeds... The story mode. I admittedly expected a creative, enjoyable, yet passé and repetitive single player campaign where the only goal and reason for finishing the level was to pick up all the goodies. While finding every sticker and item is more than an enjoyable part of the game, it has seamlessly been integrated and amazingly hidden away under the stunningly enjoyable and diverse levels that make up this mode. Every time I get excited about something on the screen, that excitement gets interrupted by something else amazingly cool. On top of all this.
Yes there are tutorials, lots and lots of tutorials. "at least for the create mode" One thing though that I didn't see coming was how much I already knew by the time I went into the mode simply by playing through the single player campaign. The creators have effectively using the powers of observation. For instance, when you jump on a critter to destroy it, instead of it popping with an explosion and simply vanishing, they dismantle, falling apart in a way that deceptively engrains how they were constructed in the back of your mind. You will find yourself performing an action in the game and under your breath muttering "aahhh. wow, so thats how they do it. thats neat"
As for the game creator, very little to gripe about. There were only 2 things I could think of that seem as missed opportunities, one of which I understand its absence being a possible liability. In the create mode, It would have been nice to be able to control the camera while you have your toolbox open. Second and understandably absent is the ability to supply your own sounds to the game. While this would have been a fun and creative outlet for the game, I understand how some might "ahem" abuse this ability.
With all that said, the only thing really keeping this from a perfect ten is the understandable network issues. I expect for there to be some kinks to work out during a game launch of this magnitude. Not even extensive beta testing can spotlight every possible technical issue that might be present. So lag in overloaded servers is expected, but I did notice a complete drop in loading time and speed across the board even in single player when the servers switched on for the first time.
I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of the game on the 25th so I had a few days to play before the servers went up. The game automatically signs on to the network while the game is loading and once those servers switched on, the game had developed unexpected stutters and at times full on locking up my PS3. Im pretty sure this is due to the game constantly updating and transferring information realtime while you play, but with congested servers this can cause some issues. Im sure these kinks will be ironed out within the first week or so but for the time being Im docking 0.5 points until it is resolved.
Well thats about it. All in all this is simply one of the legendary few that neither hype nor overly high expectations can ruin. Not only is this simply a must have for anyone with a PS3, but now Media Molecule and Sony have legitimately given everyone who doesn't already own one, a reason to run out and buy a PS3.
Cheers,
Jon