Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Just plain fun"

When a sequel to LBP was announced many wondered what on Earth could be added to the game that couldn't simply be DLC. LBP1 already added a paint gun with the MSG4 pack and water in another along with items and costumes so what on Earth could a sequel bring to the table that was new?

Well it turns out, lots of things. First off when you start out the game will upload all data from the first game including costumes, DLC, and any stages you may have been working on so shortly after the intro you'll return to your all too familiar pod.

First off the biggest change is this game went for a bit more story throwing in some cutscenes and voice work. Sackboy or girl lives in a land called Craftworld which as you know is where all imagination lives but is now under attack from an evil vaccum dragon called "The Negativatron" and with the help of some wacky but lovable neighbors, Sackboy leads an alliance to save Craftworld from this menace.

Most notably LBP2 seems less embarassed that it's sort of a cutesy game this time around where it's predecessor seemed afraid to let it's inner cuteness out for fear the "Hardcorz" would go "OMG thers no blood thiz iz teh gaaaayyy!!111" LBP2 puts it's cute irreverance out front for all to see. You get stages like a colorful rainforest and a world made out of cake and candy full of fun silliness.

But so many new items are brought into play as well as what can be used for your own levels now. Grappling hooks, grabby gloves, sackbots and vehicles are all at your disposal now adding tons of depth to the sidescrolling platforming. Along with the new items are setups for various mini games such as racing and vs competitions that you can play online or even make your own versions of popular mini games. This also allows for Move implementation to give the mini games a more "Wii-like" feel if you're into that.

Once the story is done you can head into the community and this time there is a slightly better way of navigating user made stages though there's still tons of "OMG Heart my level with easy trophies and free stickers lol!!" But at least the rating doesn't automatically default to 4 stars now.

LBP2 has definitely improved on what the first one brought to the table. It's great to see a newer series that isn't an M rated action game being popular and gives me hope that there's still a place for lighthearted cute games in this brown/gray FPS gaming landscape.