Rough around the edges, though worth a quick playthrough
Imagine a game; in this game, the developer is not somebody who scripts your time playing as opposed to an enabler, who gives you the tools to create your own masterpieces. Imagine a world in which all the times you said, "I wish there was a game like …" there is actually a game like. Imagine a world in which books, movies and music come to life in the form of little sacks.
Sounds pretty awesome, amirite?
Now, imagine this same world… Except the tools are limited, you must search really hard for good content, and the controls are terrible; rendering your newfound creation near unplayable. Imagine a game in which many levels are merely for presentation. Imagine a game in which perspective gets in the way, of, like, everything.
Sounds fairly bad…No? This is littlebigplanet 2.
The concept of littlebigplanet 2 is much like its predecessor; play, create and share various levels from around the globe. At its core concept, littlebigplanet 2 sounds like any longtime gamer's dream game. Create various games from your imagination. I remember back when I was a child, I use to dream of creating my own games.
Ahh.. Yes, child, bringing me to a small warning. Do not be fooled by this game's E6+ rating. At the earliest, 10 years old is a good age. Not only will small children be easily frustrated by this game, the main focus of Littlebigplanet 2 is sharing levels… And there are some levels clearly inappropriate for children under six; whether it is because of language or mature themes.
The story mode of littlebigplanet 2 is rather intriguing when you get the hang of it. The levels are clever and not only flex your game muscles, but your brain muscles as well. Much like its predecessor, whimsical charm is at the core of the story mode. Mix historical figures and fantasy settings and you get LittlebigPlanet 2's story mode.
The creation tools are back, and better. Tutorials will guide novices through the process of creating small levels. Experts will be able to delve in, creating masterpieces the developers might be jealous of. Although to anyone who is new to the littlebigplanet series, be prepared to spend upwards of 70 hours trying to get the hang of the creation tools.
Created levels, although, are where the true meat of this game is. Literally millions of levels are created. Although much of them are poorly-made, and overtly-difficult, there are a few in which people have spent time perfecting, and that sort of effort comes through in the final package; much like a game from a well-liked studio.
LittlebigPlanet 2 also has the "Custom Soundtrack" Feature, just in case listening to music while playing PS3 is your thing. Although, the music does not play while you play any sort of level; only while you are creating masterpieces and waiting for a level to load. This, at times may become frustrating, especially if you wanted to listen to a favorite song while bouncing from platform to platform on story mode.
Also, as of October 2011, this game has a small community; athough the amount of people playing does not significantly affect gameplay. It only affects gameplay if you are the type that wants to play Co-op story mode with strangers.
Onto the Negative points of LittleBigplanet 2.
One of the major flaws of this game is its controls. In a platformer, I tend to value snappy, quick controls. It's one of the major elements that affect a platformer's success in my opinion. Unfortunaltely, LittleBigplanet 2 has terrible controls. Expect loads of cheap deaths as your Sackperson misses various jumps and plunges to his/her doom. Controls are probably LittleBig Planet 2's single biggest flaw.
Another major flaw is Littlebigplanet 2's lack of good content. Although there might be good content, and there certainly is, it is lost in the abyss of knockoff costumes for your characters and half-baked content made by the littlebigplanet 2 community. Be prepared to not always find good content. Many levels tend to serve as emulations of good games, and trust me, these emulations are plentiful.
If you do not play games online, however, littlebig planet 2 becomes unplayable. Having only acess to the minimal levels on the disc would most certainly be infuriating, no? Much of the joy of littlebig Planet 2 comes from finding incredible levels online.
A quick warning, however, not much of this game is Move-enabled. A few move-enabled levels are available for 10.00 usd in a DLC pack called, "Sackboy's prehistoric moves."
Although littlebig Planet 2 is very rough around the edges, it is most certainly worth a little time of yours. Between the created levels made by other users, and the deep creation tools Littlebigplanet 2 has to offer, you might actually spend months playing this game. Or you could absolutely hate its controls and find that after a while you are unable to find good levels. Littlebig Planet 2 is the type of game that some will love and some will hate. I would recommend renting this game first to make sure you like it.
Overall, I'd give this game an 81/100 or 8.0/10