LittleBigPlanet 2, one of the highlights of my entire time at E3 2010

Written by Nicole Kline  on June 21, 2010

Hands-On Preview: Sackboy is the Man of the Year.

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One of the highlights of my entire time at E3 was sitting down with Media Molecule Community Manager James Spafford and getting to check out LittleBigPlanet 2, high on my list of anticipated games for this year. Having played and beaten both the original and the portable version, I was eager to slide back into the familiar knitted suit of Sackboy. First, before I begin trying to describe the experience, I'd like for you to watch the trailer:



I'd seen that trailer at least a hundred times before sitting down with James, and as he began his explanation of how it wasn't just a platform game, but was a platform for games, I told him so. УSometimes I put it on just to hear the song, and it makes me a bit weepy,Ф I admitted. We went on a brief tangent about music Ц that song, by Passion Pit, as well as some of the great musical choices they made in the other two games. The soundtrack for this one is not finalized or he'd have shared more with me, but we'll be sure to make the announcement here at Gaming Target as soon as we know. And then it was done loading, and I was able to dive directly into the wonder and magic that is LittleBigPlanet 2.


The first thing James explained to me was that things would be working a bit differently here in LBP2. There's a brand new mechanic in the creator mode called the УControlinator,Ф which physically pops up a circuitboard controller and allows you to map certain buttons to actions. It places a chair on the item that Sackboy can sit in and control it from there. He had a basic vehicle from the first game, a kart of sorts, and he showed me how with the Controlinator, he could set it so that the Sixaxis was linked to driving forward. With a slight movement of his wrist, the kart began to move.

In addition to the chair in the Controlinator, there's also the gyroscope, which allows the player to keep objects at the same orientation, and an anti-gravity switch. Anyone who's played any of the user generated levels in the first game knows what it's like when they try to use a vehicle in certain levels Ц they can careen in ways you weren't expecting, flip upside-down, or just generally fail at achieving what the creator intended. With these all-new additions, creators can now make their vehicles far more accurate and sophisticated Ц I watched Community Manager and Interactive Designer Tom Kiss build a spaceship in scant minutes and then demonstrate how the UFO could fly. УIf he did that in just a few minutes, imagine what he could do with even more time,Ф James said. The possibilities Ц and potential Ц have really grown.

The cool just kept escalating exponentially from there. The next thing he showed me was a vehicle that someone else had made, a mash-up of a microphone and an electric shaver. As he approached it, it was lifeless, but once he jumped into the chair, it came to life very suddenly, lights bright and wings flapping, seeming to transform into a strange mechanical dragonfly. He began to fly, shooting approaching monsters, and then continued along into an area filled with invaders from space. LittleBigPlanet as a shmup? Yes, please. Pew, pew!



While their ultimate goal was already clear from the trailer, it's certain that Media Molecule has not only taken the time to make levels more fun than before, they've also given their creative community a way to push the envelope even further. James explained to me how they saw so many things that people were trying to do but couldn't with the tools available, so they built those tools, and here they were, in action. AWESOME! flashed across the screen once he dispensed with the invaders, and we were off again.

The next part was also from the trailer Ц the caterpillar race. Sackboy hopped onto the back of a furry caterpillar and the camera angle changed suddenly, launching him into a top-down race with several other furry caterpillars, all being manned by Sackbots. The caterpillars crashed into each other, creating a sort of bumper-caterpillar effect and overall behaving quite adorably.

We came up another Уfurry chap,Ф as James called him, in the next part. He got up on top of him and started to walk him back and forth, riding on him with the chair from the Controlinator. He explained that there's a new feature in which you can actually make Sackboy invisible, allowing you to play through the game as though you were really a creation like this critter and not Sackboy himself. Cheeky monkeys!

Chairs can also be placed onto over-sized Sackbots to help you to maneuver the environment. Extra large blocks necessary for platforming areas can be moved around by these handy Sackbots. James also showed me another neat mechanic in which you can hop into a chair, which he pointed out doesn't need to be attached to something that must be moved, and through that chair, control several Sackbots all at once. The demonstration that followed was four Sackbots just above Sackboy in his chair, and they moved together in unison as though performing a choreographed dance.



Another new feature I got to see was the cinematic cut scene camera, in which you can make actual movies using Sackboy and his Sackbots. I got to see the protagonist, Clive, give his slow and somber speech, then pop out and say hello. (УClive's my favorite,Ф James admitted.) This camera can allow the player to create elaborate scenes with dialog, choreographed Sackbots, orЕwellЕanything they can imagine, really. This is an exciting addition to the create aspect of LBP Ц how long until we can watch full-length movies, either originals or Sackboy-versions of, say, King Kong? The potential for this is limitless.

I asked James at this point if LBP2 would be compatible with PlayStation Move, a big question I'd heard people asking while I was at E3. His reply was that they were trying to get the game out by Christmas, so it was most likely that there would be a DLC pack released later to incorporate the new controller. The Move will be another huge step up for creators Ц the precision and immersion will allow for creativity to flow in a much more organic way than ever before.

James still had two more very cool levels to show me. The first was the RTS level, where Sackboy could spawn tanks and then have them follow his command Ц again, all linked in with the Controlinator. The tanks could go attack enemies, and then be moved around the level by the player to face other enemies. But even cooler was the final level he showed me, a 3D holographic level involving spaceships and optical illusions. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before Ц and was nearly unrecognizable as a LittleBigPlanet level.



And then the big moment came: James turned to me and asked if I wanted to play. It was after 5, we could feel the oppressive end of E3 upon us, but James and Tom were willing to let me check it out until we were kicked out. I enthusiastically grabbed a controller and hopped in. The first order of business was to pick up a grappling hook and make my way into the level. Some bouncing was involved, and as I got higher and higher, James explained how to use the grappling hook Ц the same button you use to make Sackboy grab things Ц so I hit R1 and started swinging around. You can adjust the length of the grapple with up and down on the directional pad. James said, УThis part's more fun with other people!Ф and he and Tom both grabbed a controller and tried to hop in, at which point the game froze. Whoops!