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LittleBigPlanet Karting Review for PlayStation 3 (PS3)

LittleBigPlanet Karting Review for PlayStation 3 (PS3)

Cutie Kart

Ah, kart racing. It’s a game genre that’s decades old. While gaming’s favorite Italian plumber introduced us to the concept back in the SNES era, the formula has barely changed since then, with the biggest evolution probably being the exchange of sprites for polygons with Mario Kart 64. And most of us are fine with that. But is LittleBigPlanet Karting fine with that? Let’s take a look.

Let’s just put this out on the table right away: LBP Karting is really Sony’s answer to Mario Kart. (Well, one of Sony’s answers, anyway. We’ve also seen classics come and go, such as Crash Team Racing back in the PSOne era.) Mario Kart has a huge advantage in terms of sheer iconic value; the idea of firing red and green turtle shells, for example, is almost synonymous with the kart racing genre itself.

LittleBigPlanet Karting Screenshot

While LBP Karting can’t really match those sorts of iconic power-ups, the power-ups here aren’t all that shabby. Sure, they probably won’t end up being permanently connotative to the genre the way shells and mushrooms are, but it’s undeniably fun to turn your kart into a gigantic boxing glove to ram people, or to hit a button that fast-forwards your progress on the track.

But LBP Karting knows it would never topple Mario by being a Mario Kart clone, so it focuses instead on the things that make the LBP franchise in general so great. The first one is the loveable aesthetic. You can’t deny the sheer adorability of Sackboy and his friends, and the world of LBP is filled with that sort of craft shop charm you can’t find anywhere else outside your grandmother’s attic.

And that brings me to the major advantage of LBP Karting: the customization. Sure, we’ve had ModNation Racers to fill that creative kart-shaped hole in our hearts, but that doesn’t have the same sort of natural charm that LBP is known for. It’s those two things together—charm and customization—that has always made the LBP series a beacon of hope for the non-Nintendo E-rated demographic.

But there’s a third thing, too, and this is something that I think will unfortunately be missed out on by a majority of players. LBP Karting, just like its platforming brethren before it, offers a substantial amount of non-racing content. Yes, I’m referring to the odd little minigames here. And yes, I understand why the very word “minigame” makes the hair on the backs of the necks of most gamers get all prickly—the Wii, after all, has soured us to the very idea with its second-rate minigame comps that are way more fun as Frisbees than as actual game discs. But the LBP franchise—especially since LBP 2—has always offered side activities that are insanely fun and innovative. And they’re completely optional. LBP Karting is no exception.

LittleBigPlanet Karting Screenshot

In fact, I want to encourage anyone who decides to pick this game up to explore some of the non-racing activities. I guarantee you’ll find something that charms your socks right off your cute little feet. For example, there are some egg-related challenges—one has you try to hang on to an egg for as long as possible while the other players pick up power-ups they’ll use to knock it out of your arms; another has you pick up eggs and deliver them to a set location before your time runs out. There are also some side-scrolling challenges; for example, there’s a one-button minigame that has you jumping over pastries while riding a cupcake car on a conveyor belt. Some of these challenges must be completed in order to progress the story mode—and they do a good job of breaking up the routine of the whole thing—but many of them are completely optional.

I understand that Mario Kart Wii had a few minigame challenges as well, but I think most of us would agree that not many of them held our attention for long. LBP Karting offers minigames that are truly fun and innovative.

Now, this simply wouldn’t be a LittleBigPlanet game without an overwhelming creative suite. LBP Karting delivers here, offering you tools to customize pretty much anything you want. Sure, you can dress up your Sackboy in a plethora of cute costumes, and you can carefully customize your kart with some pretty cool options (like making it hover or adding tank treads), but this is just the beginning. The main course, though, is the level creation suite, which you’ll undoubtedly spend hours just learning the basics of. Not only can you build and customize your own racetracks, but you can customize the power-ups as well. I found one user-created stage, for example, that replaced all the missiles with cows. Needless to say, my friends and I had a hysterical time shooting each other with exploding flying cows.

LittleBigPlanet Karting Screenshot

Of course, many people will be flat-out intimidated by the sheer wealth of options here, and the amount of command you have over any map is absurdly overwhelming. LBP has a dedicated and creative following, though, so we can rest assured that we’ll see some insanely cool creations showing up in the Community section.

Now, one thing that makes Mario Kart shine so brightly is its perfectly refined controls. Unfortunately, LBP Karting plays a bit more fast and loose than would be preferable here. Your karts tend to lack any feel of weight, and drifting in hovering vehicles is a bit hard to judge. I could defend this decision by pointing out the fact that Sackboy is just a wee little guy, and if he’s driving in, say, a sardine can with bottle caps for wheels, then his cart should feel light. But that would be insulting the intelligence of gamers who have decades of kart racing experience under their belts, and who know what a solid kart racer should feel like. This isn’t exactly it. Still, the controls aren’t horrible by any stretch of the imagination. Besides, LBP and tight controls have never really been synonymous in the first place.

LittleBigPlanet Karting Screenshot

The audio design is spot-on here, with all your favorite sound effects, some returning tunes from the old games along with some new ones (including a chiptune track I happen to personally be fond of), and, of course, Stephen Fry’s soothing voice explaining the game mechanics to you. It never truly feels like a tutorial when Mr. Fry is chattering away, does it?

Ultimately, I guess it’s hard to stand by any claims that LittleBigPlanet Karting could be seen as a huge evolution to the genre; it does take some age-old ideas, though, and coat them in adorable LBP paint. Still, it offers both a substantial kart racing experience and a heaping serving of that LBP flavor we’ve grown to love. It’s not perfect, but it’s an absolute blast. In fact, I’ve already seen it win over some first-timers to the LBP fold. If you own a PS3 and have any sort of fondness for LBP or kart racing, this one should probably already be on your holiday wish list.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.5 Graphics
This is a LBP title through and through, and as such, it has a beautiful, hand-crafted visual appeal. 3.2 Control
The karts lack a sense of weight, which can be a little difficult to get used to. 5.0 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Classic LBP sounds, charming music, and the return of the beloved Mr. Fry. Can LBP possibly sound any better? 4.9 Play Value
The prebuilt tracks are a ton of fun, and the creative mode provides such a wealth of options that we’ll never see an end to the community’s mind-blowing creations. 4.6 Overall Rating – Must Buy
Not an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.

Review Rating Legend
0.1 – 1.9 = Avoid 2.5 – 2.9 = Average 3.5 – 3.9 = Good 4.5 – 4.9 = Must Buy
2.0 – 2.4 = Poor 3.0 – 3.4 = Fair 4.0 – 4.4 = Great 5.0 = The Best

Game Features:

  • Your favorite customizable Sackboy returns with new driving abilities to guide you through a completely new fast-paced adventure.
  • Race through a whole new 3D world filled with a mix of familiar and unique Craftworld environments and themes. Experience competitive races, objective-based missions, boss battle challenges, and the ever-competitive arena modes.
  • Share your creations with the rest of the community and contribute to the inevitable thousands of new tracks and experiences created by fans just like you.
  • In the creative mood? Customize your Sackboy and Karts with tons of options unlocked throughout the game. And for all you future game designers, take control of the new CREATE tools and create your own tracks, missions, games, and adventures, just like you did in all the other LittleBigPlanet games.

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