LittleBigPlanet Karting sees Sackboy move away from his 2d’ish side scrolling platformer and move into the 3D world of Kart Racing. Gone is Media Molecule and in are United Front Games who you may remember from Sleeping Dogs. Can the studio responsible for a GTA clone set in the gangster underworld of Hong Kong, handle Sony’s mascot and launch him in a whole new direction? In a word, yes. Before they ruled the streets of Hong Kong, United Front Games released, ModNation Racers, and aims to put it to good use in what could possibly be the new generation of Kart Racers.
So what is Little Big Planet Karting and is it just another Mario Kart clone? Sort of, but this is not a bad thing. Mario Kart was and still is one of the most fun multiplayer racing games of all time. Even though LittleBigPlanet Karting lends from Mario Kart with the use of over the top weapons it is not a direct clone. The story based missions separate this game from those before.
LittleBigPlanet Karting offers the same story based gameplay that anyone who has played any of the LBP games will be familiar with but as the title suggests, Sackboy is now a sick racing driver. Stephen Fry narrates your through the world, teaching you how to control your kart and after a few laps you’ll be drifting your way to victory. Boosting requires you to drift through turns until your wheels burst into flames. The longer you slide, the faster you’ll go, thankfully though; stick wiggling won’t work, effectively eliminating any way to cheat the system.
Aside from boosting, there are a few different maneuvers. Grappling lets you swing over pits of goo or electric fields, spinning in midair gives you a boost once you’re back on ground. These are only a small part of the racing action, like other Karting games smart use of your items will be what gets you the checkered flag. Missiles, land mines, and other items can be collected throughout the courses, and can be used to slow down your enemies and give yourself an advantage. One of the most useful is ‘fast-forward’. This essentially rockets your kart at about Mach 10 past your competitors and puts you in the lead; of course your opponents will have the same opportunity to find these power-ups so there is some strategy involved in choosing the right time to use your items.
There are also checkpoint races, where you’re racing against the clock, as well as co-op levels where several players can take part at the same time. 2D platform levels and “boss battles” round out the experience, which diverge from the action by offering a mix of racing and combat. The game also has a host of multiplayer modes, which allows players to experience basically everything singleplayer has to offer with up to seven friends.
Regardless of what mode you’re playing, the action is fast-paced, frantic and colourful. Tracks are themed around spaceships, a world of trash and even tasty sweets like cupcakes. The uplifting music that has always been a staple in the LBP franchise returns to Karting, adding to the pace and feel of the environments.
It wouldn’t be LittleBigPlanet without customization and one of the best sections is the creation center; here just like its predecessors you can let your imagination run wild and crate unique racing tracks to yours hearts content and with ease. United Front Games have also included a great selection of tutorial videos so you never feel lost or not sure what you are doing. I managed to build a unique track based on the F1 circuit in Monaco within 30mins including the harbour. This function alone means the game never gets old.
Customization continues obviously continues with Sackboy himself, being able to customize every detail. New parts, costumes and decorations are littered around the tracks waiting to be discovered. Change his look, his ride and even add a nifty horn, the possibilities are endless. Customizations are of course purely cosmetic, not affecting on-track performance, aside from maybe distracting competitors with how cool you look.
If you would rather sit back, put your feet up and just race then the user crated content section is where you should be heading. Here you will be able expand your track and game library without having to use your creative brain cells. If this section turns out to be like any of the Little Planet Games you rest assured you will be playing for free some of the most bazaar, brain twisting and fun games that would be worthy of your hard earned cash.
Overall LittleBigPlanet Karting delivers the experience we all expect this generation. The right mix of many elements adds up to a satisfying experience and with a ton of replay-ability in the form of hidden items and online play, we’ll be playing LBP Karting for the foreseeable future!
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