LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3)

This is a faithful entry in the LittleBigPlanet (lbp) series. Its more multi player focused compared to the previous LBP games simply because platforming is more single player friendly. Yet the single player mode is lots of fun given that its a kart racer. There is also a variety of story mode game types alongside karting to keep you interested. RC races (think micro machines) to battle modes and F1 pit stop style races are included. The focus is playing with others and the game has a feature to keep your party connected and flowing through a vote system when you finish a race. This does the job well and the host can always manually change tracks if necessary. Voice chat works great and text messaging is also possible in the traditional lbp pop up way.

Lots of options and a very powerful create mode that is fully 3D from the ground up. It is possible to create certain game types not possible in LBP 2. A good example being you can make a natural starfox 64 style game in 3D or a Jungle Strike with 2d view. There are water/boat racing tracks made by the community. Tower defense and other game types can be made. Weapons can be customised and creators can share weapons through levels. There is a mario kart weapon packs making the rounds. The shells are larger and the question mark power ups are not transparent but its surprisingly close.

Karts are fully customisable. You can change suspension to a floating/flying kart to a tank kart. The game shines here. Costumes are the same as previous LBP games. You will be able to use the same costumes unlocked in the other games soon after a patch.

The karting is closest to Mario Kart and comparisons were already inevitable. The power ups are very similar(and customisable) as are the kart handling aspects unlike Modnation Racers. You have a slide(like Mario Kart) to boost feature and can spin in the air to boost(think stunt to boost in MK). In fact there are lots of Mario Kart homage tracks and power up packs already thanks to the strong customisable nature of the game. The game seems to do very well at functioning as a mario kart hd of sorts! A good exmaple being Moo Moo farm on youtube.In LBP 1&2 platforming was very different from Mario Bros. due to the very different controls and feel. LBP karting on the other hand does not have this issue. So its worth pointing out that the makers are on to something different here. At the same time this game is hardly just a homage to other racers there is a huge amount of original content being made and its up to the individual how they enjoy this game.

The quality of tracks are great. The ones in the story mode are fun but there are fantastic tracks already released by the community. Thankfully there are more themes in create than what is shown in the story mode and can be mixed up to create more original looking tracks. The community is already proving to be inventive on day 1. This will help keep the game fresh for a long time. LBP.me integration seems to be working and everything is running smoothly. Finding good tracks seems to be easy so far given that most will never step into create but want to enjoy what is out there.

As for the negatives:
Costume compatibility with other LBP games should have been included Day 1. Its a great feature and includes dlc costumes.
Glass materials need to be more glass like(create mode). As it is I prefer other materials to try and recreate the same effect.
More complex(but also more powerful) than Modnation Racers in create. Maybe more ready to use objects would help beginners?
Karting games are not long term single player focused. Buy this if you can play with others or online.

Overall this game exceeded my expectations. I thought it would be good but not quite as fun as the best kart games. Glad I was wrong. Its now one of my favourite multiplayer games on the PS3 but also a good offline family game. If you enjoy karting games then this game is a safe bet.

Gone down well as a Xmas pressy, As usual with LBP very interesting and engaging, they particularly like the fact you can build your own tracks. However, niggling problem - its Move compatible, but not something we bought this for, If you have a move controller or Eye switched on, it looks for the move steering wheel and wont progress. You have to quit, switch off the controllers and unplug the eye. Took us a while to work this out so be aware. Otherwise would have been 5 stars

The gameplay is slow, the graphics are correct but i expected more. There is a creation mode and its good but the probleme : the races are boring so it's not very appreciable in race. a little disappointed
and be aware that the title was not developed by Media Molecule, who made both Little Big Planet, but "United Front",not very well known ....
So yes, it looks like Little Big Planet, we find the music, the colors, the style, the look, but the build quality is not at the rendez vous: the game is not fluid at all and the racing sensations are totally absent.
if you're a fan of the serie, it's ok, but if you want a game of fun and fluid karting, go your way!