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Review: LittleBigPlanet 2 - PS3

by Steven Williamson on 24 January 2011, 16:36 4.35

Tags: Sony Computers Entertainment Europe (NYSE:SNE), Platform

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There's nothing little about this big planet

It was a real privilege to grow up during the 16-bit era when classic games like Super Mario Bros were all the rage and a handful of iconic company mascots, such as Sonic The Hedgehog, were born. As hardware has improved, things have changed remarkably in every genre and platform games are no longer just about jumping over obstacles, bouncing from springboards and simply getting from 'A' to 'B'. Nintendo has always been at the forefront of innovation in this particular genre, with the likes of Super Mario 64 setting the standard by rewarding players for exploration and encouraging one to think outside the traditional box.

Fast forward to Super Mario Galaxy on Wii and its sequel and you really get a picture of how far the genre has come. Not only does Nintendo superbly blend old ideas from past Mario games with stunning new concepts and an innovative control scheme, but the spectacular, gravity-defying level design offers new ways to explore and puzzle solve that demonstrates the incredible imagination of the team at the Japanese developer's HQ. I always thought that the creativity of Nintendo, who has consistently delivered new ideas throughout its history, could never be matched.

In many ways though, LittleBigPlanet is even more exciting than the Super Mario Galaxy that Nintendo has so expertly created. This relatively new franchise has started from scratch only a few years ago and – in an era where we haven’t seen any new company mascots take off – have created the loveable Sackboy and a fantastic series of videogames that will no doubt grow from strength to strength to be etched in the memory of PlayStation gamers for eternity.

LittleBigPlanet 2 builds on this new legacy with some style...

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