Panthers Video Game Review Club: LittleBigPlanet 3

Box art for LBP 3

Release Date: November 18, 2014 (North America)

Console: PS3 and PS4

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Creator: Sumo Digital

ESRB Rating: E

*WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THIS GAME AND FOR PORTAL 2. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED*

You know what I hate about today’s “triple A” industry? The difficulty of replacing the batteries? *drum rimshot* No, I was actually referring to the lack of variety between sequels. The absolute worst offender of this is Call of Duty, which pumps out the same game year after year with next to no changes in their new games. Nintendo thrives off this practice, with Mario still playing like how it did for the NES, and Pokemon just being the same game with new monsters. Sony effectively ruined God of War’s plot, since Kratos goes back to murdering everything after he redeems himself, and who can forget Activision, the company that destroyed their biggest series by releasing three "Guitar Hero""s every year? Luckily though not all games are treated this way, and to me, LittleBigPlanet has yet to offend me in this regard (mobile spinoffs and Karting not included).

For those who have been asleep since 2007, LittleBigPlanet is Sony’s platforming game series famous for its mantra: “Play, Create, Share”. You play through the Story Mode to collect materials and objects you can later use to build levels in Create Mode. Once you have built a decent level/Mario rip-off, you share it online, for everyone to ignore. I experimented with the new creative mode in LittleBigPlanet 3, and it is all very similar to past installments, however, with one big difference in it's depth. Not philosophical depth, but literal depth. LBP has always been unusual for a platformer in the aspect that it has 3 different planes, which the player can switch between by flicking the joystick up or down. In this game, you have not 3, but 16 different planes. Quite the jump, and completely out of left field! They have now added new mechanics and tools to spring a player from plane to plane forcibly, where you could not really do that before. That being said, this is not the only new tool to experiment with; characters are now much more varied.

The face of LittleBigPlanet Sackboy returns as the protagonist in LBP 3. Sackboy differs from Sony’s other mascots by not being psychotic (ie. Kratos) or snarky (ie. everyone else), but a blank slate to project yourself onto, like Mario or Link. This is fitting, as this game is all about showing off your ideas and imagination. Starting this game, you can access a “Sack Pocket” by pressing the circle button. As you progress, you unlock more power-ups for your pocket, with each one required for certain platforming puzzles. But now this game has three more unique characters you can use for playing through certain levels.
The first new character unlocked is OddSock. OddSock is similar in looks and character to a big dog. He runs faster and jumps further than Sackboy, and can slide and jump off of walls. The next new character is Toggle. Toggle can toggle between twice Sackboy’s size to half it, hence the name. Small Toggle can run faster and jump further than Sackboy (but not as fast or as far as OddSock), walk on water, and fit in small places, while Big Toggle can weigh down spring pads (and leap up as Small Toggle), and break certain obstacles. Big Toggle is similar to Patrick Star in terms of personality, being a big, lovable idiot, and Small Toggle reminds me of Grumpy the Dwarf (pun very intended). Finally, you can play as Swoop. Swoop is a bird. That’s it. He has no personality, and is introduced near the end of the game, so imprinting on him is difficult.

*SPOILERS* The story begins with Sackboy being transported to a new world called Bunkum by the soon-to-be-villain Newton. I really don’t consider that a spoiler; his design, speech, and overall demeanor all scream “He’s gonna back stab you!”. It doesn't help either that he convinces you to attack a woman named “Nana Pud”. That sounds like my grandma, not an antagonist. Newton draws many parallels to Wheatley from Portal 2. They both have posh British accents and severe inferiority complexes, and they both start off assisting the player, then turning evil. Also similar to Wheatley, I found that the game makes Newton seem more evil than he really is. Newton tricks the player into releasing the Titans, malevolent spirits who feed off of creativity. Newton plans to use them to make Bunkum “the happiest picnic spot in the universe”, but then the spirits possess him, and use him to attack Bunkum. Later on, he is released from the Titans, and aids the player in taking them down. But the end game narration still makes him out as a villain. Of course, I am ahead of myself.

After the Titans are awakened, you must awaken the heroes who defeated the Titans long ago; OddSock, Toggle, and Swoop. Here’s how it goes down: Sackboy arrives at a new section. Sackboy unlocks a new power-up for the Sack Pocket. Sackboy completes three levels to unlock the hero’s hideaway. Once inside, the hero is introduced. A reason is contrived as to why the player must now control the unlocked hero. Newton arrives. One of the Titans are defeated and captured. Repeat for the next hero. Compared to LittleBigPlanet 1 and 2, this story mode feels very insubstantial, and serves more as a tutorial for level components than an actual story. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but the previous installments managed to make a decent length story, AND managed to introduce new concepts to the player. *SPOILERS END HERE I GUESS*

Despite its average story, the game does keep the same charm it had in the other installments. Perhaps it is the narration by Stephen Fry, or the simple-yet-interesting soundtrack, but this game really does feel like it is powered by imagination. Graphically it is nothing groundbreaking, but aesthetically the game is amazing, keeping themes consistent and subtle.

If there is one spot where this game (and its predecessors) fall flat on it's face, however, is the multiplayer. The game makes quite the effort to encourage you to play with your friends with certain collectibles not being accessible without at least two players, but for the most part it simply doesn't work. On many levels, timing is key, and timing can be frustrating if your less experienced partner keeps pulling the screen back. Not to mention, there is a certain button combo that allows you to slap your partner, potentially into a map hazard, and I know far too many people who do this.

Controls remain unaltered from past installments, with square opening the menu and the “x” button makes you jump. Something new to be added though is that in this game the “o” button has received a new purpose. Pressing this button when everything else is closed allows you to access the aforementioned “Sack Pocket”, and you may equip or unequip a power-up. Like all previous power-ups, these are controlled with the “R1”. These controls do work well, and require no further comment.

As for replay value, this game has a few good reasons for why you should play it again. First, there is this need I felt to collect certain prizes you can't access without the appropriate power-up or sticker you don't receive until later on in the game. **Side Note: stickers are used on certain levels with an accompanying canvas on the wall. The game will put stickers required to beat the level in a new section, where it is easier for the player to access them, then place them on the canvas.** It also allows you to “ace” a level, or complete it without dying. Usually, the prizes for acing a level are the best, so this gives a bit more incentive to players.

Finally, I will talk about glitches. Fortunately, I found nothing game-breaking during my run through of the story mode. However, I did notice that OddSock’s costume would occasionally change during cut scenes, but it wasn't always noticeable. This being said I did find one big glitch that was on one of the levels to unlock Swoop. I had the Dash Boots power-up equipped, and was approaching a stage hazard that immobilized you in a bubble until it hit a wall. Either right before or after I got trapped, I used the boots, and suddenly I was outside the level. I haven’t been able to recreate it so far, so I doubt too many other people have experienced this same glitch. Besides, you can actually jump back into the level, or even just restart it. And while this is more of a general nit pick then anything, I found that loading the game takes ages, particularly if you have content from a previous LittleBigPlanet game to be transferred over to it.

This concludes my review for LittleBigPlanet 3. I personally found it to be a pleasant game, and I hope the “E” rating doesn't ward off any older readers. LittleBigPlanet has always been enjoyable for all age groups, and this game is no exception. I personally found the final two levels fairly challenging (in a good way), so definitely don’t push it off as a “kiddie game”. Out of ten, this game is definitely a nine. This has been Kadabra Guy, and I hope my review has been useful.

Final Rating: 9/10

-Kadabra Guy