I really dont understand the downbid on your comment. I have just read the Playstation thread and whilst i do not agree with most of your comments or the way you have conducted yourself, no matter how victimised you feel, your comment in this thread was perfectly reasonable and balanced and did not deserve a downbid.
To everybody, please do not take past discussions, no matter how recent, and the opinion they have given you of a particular person to downbid someone when they make a perfectly resonable statement, that arguement is for the original thread.
There have been various other damning nega-reviews on popular games that have recieved very high scores, search the site for them if you like, so dont take it as the game is neccessarily bad. Although i do think this raises the issue of 'casualness' and accessability quite well as a number of sources commented on it, something which will affect sales numbers for the game.
For disclosure i am significantly short on this stock, i am not trying to sway the stock down, im trying provide a slightly more balanced view, that highlights some of the problems, rather than just focusing on the positives as most reviews posted have done.
Joystiq have a Nega-Review up for this game and it is an interesting read i think. For those of you who don't know what a nega-review is, it takes quotes from various sources who criticise a small part of the game in an otherwise positive review and puts them together to make the game sound bad.
Each number in brackets represents a different source.
"Most of the [built-in Story Mode] levels are short" (1) and "it won't take you long to beat the 20 or so levels." (6) "The quality isn't totally consistent -- the game drags a little in the finicky and generic Mexican section, about halfway through." (2) "We ... wish developer Media Molecule spent more time on the actual story. Although we ran into numerous characters, they lack personality ... it makes Story Mode feel like a simple world tour instead of a Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog style adventure." (1) "The story doesn't really make a whole lot of sense throughout the game... [it] just sort of ends and then encourages you to go and make your own levels." (3)
As for the multiplayer mode, "we actually found it to be a little overcrowded at times." (4) "We found that the sections that required millimeter perfect jumps to be nigh-on unplayable with friends, down to the way the camera shifts about and has a tendency to focus on the wrong part of the action." (6) "When four of you occupy the same space it's often harder to negotiate platforming sections, and keep track of which Sackboy you're controlling. Some sections, even, are near impossible for all four of you to survive." (4)
"The promise that anyone could create something simple and fun and personal with LittleBigPlanet hasn't come true." (2) "Designing levels takes a lot of patience and a simple understanding of physics, especially if you intend to make something good. Figuring out how to make switches, trap doors and other complex devices takes lots of thought, thus pushing what should be a game for all ages into the teenage/adult category." (1) "As much as Sony might market LittleBigPlanet as a game for everyone, this aspect isn't going to get much love from your non-gaming partner, mother or little sister." (6) A hefty percentage of the game's player base will find half of its features exhausting." (5) "It can all be a little overwhelming and slightly intimidating." (9)
"The level creation tools have been made almost entirely for the hardcore to get hold of." (6) "It is simply the case that many players just won't want to put in the hours necessary to make passable content of their own." (7) "This isn't a tool for everyone. If you have no artistic flair you're not going to be able to create great levels - and Media Molecule has excluded features like using digital camera snaps ... and user-generated audio that would have pleased more casual creators." (6) "The creation, as it stands, isn't going to involve the majority of players of the game. ... It locks the majority out of the creative process, because it's time-consuming and simply not very enjoyable." (2)
As for the content created by other players, "most of it sucks (sorry, it does)." (1) "The levels uploaded to the beta servers are principally instant-gratification affairs," (5) and "in reality, deep and rewarding gameplay will only feature in a tiny percentage of levels." (2) "A large number [of the levels] will be terrible and you'll only finish a handful." (6) "I'm also a little worried that the online network will be filled with a bunch of crap levels and you'll have to dig through a mountain of garbage to find the one level that's actually worth playing." (8)
A massive game, one that is essentially 2 parts intertwined so well they're practically inseparable. A brilliant platformer, giving you the tools to recreate the whole thing over again, or better yet, to create your own ideas from scratch. It's not perfect - the controls could be tighter & the editor isn't quite as robust as you might hope - but what's there is nothing short of astounding. If you own a PS3, you cannot miss this. If you don't, this is the reason to get one.
Some translations:
Magical toydolls
Recommended unconditionally (whatever they mean by that)
Reviewer convinced the game will deliver on high expectations, and he says game deliveres even more than he expected.
2
@zeromous,
I really dont understand the downbid on your comment. I have just read the Playstation thread and whilst i do not agree with most of your comments or the way you have conducted yourself, no matter how victimised you feel, your comment in this thread was perfectly reasonable and balanced and did not deserve a downbid.
To everybody, please do not take past discussions, no matter how recent, and the opinion they have given you of a particular person to downbid someone when they make a perfectly resonable statement, that arguement is for the original thread.