Every so often I fall into the hype of an upcoming video game and rush out to snatch it up the second it's released. It happened to me with Goldeneye (Wii), CoD: MW2, Batman: Arkham Asylum (though that was an early birthday present), and others. The results have varied: Goldeneye was a total meh, MW2 was great for a couple of months until the hackers really took over and Activision stopped caring, and B:AA might still be my favorite game of all time.
So I was a bit apprehensive when Kelly pushed me to pick up LittleBigPlanet 2 (LBP2) the first day it dropped (this past Tuesday). What's more, she wanted to get the Collector's Edition, an extra twenty dollars. The package includes a 7-inch plush replica of SackBoy, the game's main character (kind of) and Sony's would-be mascot (as adorable and awesome as he (it) is, he (it) never really caught on), book ends (they've been advertised as "game ends" and it even puts "game ends" in parentheses on the box), all of the DLC that was offered by various retailers as a bonus for pre-ordering the standard edition, and the game itself.
After watching a trailer for the game and a couple of reviews, I decided I had to have this game and that the CE was probably worth it just for the extra DLC stuff alone (each DLC costume runs 1.99-2.99, so that alone "justifies" the extra cost). Plus, it comes with a SackBoy. It was time to hit up local retailers to see if they had the CE in stock.
First, I started with Best Buy because I had some credit left over on a gift card (that I got for Xmas, but was labeled as Kwanzaa). The closest store was out of stock, but the next closest (almost equal distance from my house) Best Buy said they had some left. While placing a pick-up order, that Best Buy apparently sold off the last one.
Next, I tried looking at Wal-Mart since there's a Wal-Mart superstore that recently opened in the city I live in, but, like with Mario All-Stars, the WM website was less than forthcoming about which stores carried the product. So Wal-Mart was a no-go.
After that, I tried GameStop. Because the inventory on their website doesn't update until the next morning, the site listed every store as having the game. But, again, the ability to place a pick-up order was cut off while I was trying to set one up, so I had to call. It was either that or run from GameStop to GameStop to try to find one that had the game. The first two stores were sold out and were very apologetic. As an aside, there's about five GameStop stores within a 15-mile radius of my house.
The third GameStop I tried, however, was the real winner (read that as sarcastic as any teenager. Ever). Even though the store is just off a main road, it isn't very popular. Now I know why. It took about a minute for someone to answer the phone (I wasn't being impatient. As a comparison, the busier stores picked up on the first couple of rings). The employee who answered asked if I had pre-ordered it and I said that I had not, and she replied that she'd have to check to see if they had gotten any extra.
And she never came back.
I was on hold for over twenty-two minutes before I hung up. Seriously? It takes 22 minutes just to check to see if you have one item? I've had less of a wait time hold for tech support. I could see them not having any, but to take 22 minutes to check and then not bother to tell the customer who is on hold is unacceptable.
My theory is that the employee had figured that after ten minutes or so of leaving a customer on hold, it was probably unwise to pick the phone back up at all. Like poking an already angry bear. I shot off a complaint to GS' customer service department (I still haven't heard back from them, not that I expect to) and went back to searching for LBP2.
While I was on hold, I looked at Target's and Toys R Us' websites and both only had the standard release listed.
I double-checked with Best Buy and finally found one at a store that was a little further than I had wanted to drive, but since there was no guarantee there were going to be second shipments of the CE (also, I have a short attention span and would not have the patience to place an order), I placed the order and then sat there for another half hour until I got the OK to go pick it up (that's not complaining. I know that pick-up orders are something that sometimes take time to fulfill).
The drive there was painless (I've seen so much shit lately that I've been tempted to record my driving just as proof it really happens) and I even got a chuckle when I asked the greeter where to go and he pointed me towards customer service and added, "...where there's no one standing..."
Someone
was there, but with the way the store was laid out, the employee could not be seen from the entrance. The whole process was very quick and pain-free (kudos to BB for once).
The game required a small installation, which I was worried about since I have a 60GB PS3 and a lot of games require 4-5 GB for installation. But, no, LBP2 was quick and easy. That's 1 point for MM and LBP2.
I don't know about anyone else, but my experience with the first game was a mixed bag. The single player (or more with more controllers and online friends) game seemed more or less a showcase of what could be done with the level editor. The problem with that was that I found good player made levels to be few and far between. I heard from other users to look for this or that but rarely found the levels they so lauded.
So how is the setup for this game? Exactly the same. It's the same adorable little customizable SackBoys running around collecting stuff in levels loosely connected together as a showcase for what you can do in the level editor. I've been told that the new level editor is a bit easier to use, but found the first's to be so daunting I haven't yet gathered up the courage or patience to give this one a shot.
So is the game worth it? Were you a fan of the first one? If you answered yes to the second question, then the answer to first is yes. The new elements (like the grabber and the grappler) are hilariously entertaining and the side-bits are a bit more varied (like the button tap mini game I've found in numerous Mario Party's and a literal Rat Race), and I hope people can find excellent uses for them in the custom levels (which can now be strung together to create whole games).
LittleBigPlanet 2, like LittleBigPlanet, is a platformer (think Mario for the NES). The platformer to end all platformers even.
The controls are a mixed bag, as I found them to be in the first game. And some of the new gadgets just compound the problems. Like when trying to grab onto something and you latch onto the other player instead. Yeah, imagine that with a grapple gun. Don't get me wrong, like I said above, it can be hilarious. It can also be very frustrating.
I loved the first game, it was an intelligent platformer (even if we weren't so smart when playing it) with a few bugs (unfortunately, a lot of those bugs are still present) but was still good fun for most of the family (I could see little kids or grown-ups getting frustrated at the difficulty level of the end portions of the game). Hopefully, this time there'll be more to keep me around once the story-mode is finished...
