It’s difficult not to find LittleBigPlanet endearing. Sackboy is an incredibly simple yet enormously versatile character. And the hand-made look of the game world brings back memories of those arts and crafts shows on kids’ TV. All this visual appeal looks set to continue in the sequel, as well everyone knows by now. But the latest trailer, dubbed “Adventure”, also reveals some of the new gameplay elements players will be exploring.
The trailer gives some examples of gameplay from the 50 levels of the new game’s Story mode. Players will be introduced to Sackboy’s new tricks throughout the course of these levels. And, like the original, doubtless this will inspire them to make use of these tools in varied and creative ways.
First up are bounce pads. These are pretty self-explanatory. Then there’s the much-vaunted “Direct Control” system. This allows the player’s controls to directly affect an object or vehicle. No more clumsy lever-based vehicles. And more to the point, this opens up the possibility of non-platform levels. Direct Control allows a huge amount of flexibility. Through it, players could potentially create scrolling shooters, racing games and all manner of other monstrosities.
Next up are the AI Sackbots following Sackboy around like a line of Lemmings. These programmable gizmos will presumably be able to act as intelligent enemies as well as allies. In the trailer, there are a number of characters seen actually following Sackboy around the levels. Presumably these are decorated Sackbots. It’s likely players will be able to dress up Sackbots with accessories and stickers in the same way as the little woolen protagonist.
Then there’s a peep at Sackboy’s new gadgets, first among which is a grappling hook. This opens up some interesting possibilities. LittleBigBionicCommando, anyone? Following this, there’s the Creatinator, which looks set to work similar to the original’s paintball gun. The different here is that the Creatinator fires objects which can persist in the environment. The trailer sees it being used in a similar manner to Shadow Complex‘s Foam Gun. And then Power Gloves allow Sackboy to pick up heavy things and fling them around with gay abandon.
The rest of the trailer is filled with tantalizing glimpses at what look like some awesome setpieces. There’s a giant robot chicken at one point. Which is awesome. But we also see some examples of what “Direct Control” might be able to achieve. What looks like a shmup-style boss fight doesn’t appear to involve Sackboy at all, but rather a neon-glowing dragonfly-styled spacecraft. It’s pretty cool.
One thing is very clear from this trailer: LittleBigPlanet 2 is going to be way more than just a pretty platform game with a toolset. Media Molecule’s promise that LBP2 will allow players to create whole games looks entirely plausible. Assuming the Edit Mode remains easy and intuitive to use, of course!
