LittleBigPlanet Karting Review

The most important thing to understand about LittleBigPlanet Karting is that it feels like a LittleBigPlanet game. This is much more than a karting game with a LittleBigPlanet coat of paint. Everything you know about the franchise is here: customization, excellent soundtrack, creative visuals, collectibles, Stephen Fry’s dulcet tones, that adorable sackperson, and more creation tools than any reasonable person could ever figure out how to use (somebody will, though). This is more than just a LittleBigPlanet off-shoot. It’s a full entry into the LittleBigPlanet franchise that just so happens to place Sackboy into a vehicle.

The layout and menu system is immediately familiar to anyone who has ever dabbled in the planet of oxymoronic size. You have your cardboard hub where you can customize your character and his or her vehicle. Hanging from strings in the background are a series of planets housing your created levels, everyone else’s created levels, and the campaign levels included on the disc. Everything, planets included, can be stamped and customized to your own bidding.

The campaign offers a story about nearly nothing. The assorted tracks have very little to tie one another together, but there are some humorous quips here and there from the characters you meet. The evil Hoard is messing up everyone’s daily routine, and it’s up to you and your kart (which is emblazoned with cat stickers if you’re anything like me) to stop them.

The racing is simple and doesn’t offer a lot of opportunity for crafty tactics. With the exception of a few little tricks, much of your success comes down to luck and avoiding death. You can drift around corners, and if you are able to maintain your slide long enough, you can activate a boost. Outside of that lone tactic, your best bet is to think carefully about when to fire your weapons, avoid obstacles, and hit every boost possible.

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Control feels loose, but not to the point of frustration. Much like Sackboy’s platforming antics, it takes a little bit of getting used to, but it feels right once you find your stride. You will need to play a few tracks before fully grasping the controls, which may turn away impatient players.

All of the available weapons serve both offensive and defensive functions. A handy alert pops up whenever missiles and other explosives are sneaking up behind you, calling out the exact moment where you can fire your weapons backwards to avoid a crash. Expertly thwarting incoming attacks from behind feels great and the alert helps new players from feeling like they are victims of explosive circumstance.

Track creation starts out simple, blending aspects of LittleBigPlanet’s past and ModNation Racers. Laying out a track and test-racing on it is easy. After that, things can get as complicated as you want them to. Everything from what’s going on in the background to how players interact with the road is under your control. It’s intimidating, but LittleBigPlanet Karting offers you every tool you need to make the course you’ve always dreamed of with a little imagination and patience.

The existence of LittleBigPlanet Karting is a bit of a head-scratcher. It sort of already exists in the form of ModNation Racers, and to make matters more confusing, it was made by the same development team. Ignoring that weird overlap, however, LittleBigPlanet Karting is a fun racer that almost feels more like a LittleBigPlanet game than it does a kart racer. This is more than just a vehicle for Sackboy’s mascot potential. It’s a new LittleBigPlanet game.