LittleBigPlanet 2 is a very difficult game to review. It is unique in the world of videogames (prequel aside) in that the levels and gameplay mechanics created by the developers will almost certainly represent the tiniest minority of the time you spend with the game. In fact, if you concentrate solely on the more traditional aspects, you may well wonder what all the fuss is about.

There certainly is a structured, familiar singleplayer mode. Ostensibly a platformer, the revamped and turbo boosted Create mode has led to some levels and mini-games being presented as, for example, old school ‘bullet hell’ shooters. You will for the most part however be running, jumping and swinging your way from A to B.

As those familiar with the first game will know, everything has a purposefully ‘handmade’ look. Look closely and you’ll see washing up liquid bottle rockets, characters with cardboard heads, and hand-drawn background details. It’s all fantastically rendered and beautifully designed; this is one amazing looking game.

The new lengthy & artistically directed cutscenes are far from unwelcome, and some are overwhelmingly impressive. The decision to voice characters in the scenes which open and close each level, however, proves to be an unwise one. It edges LittleBigPlanet closer to an overfamiliar singleplayer experience; and in addition, some jokes prove to work better on paper than they do when spoken out loud.

Yes this is a game with a sense of humour – but the script now and again aims for a more serious, meaningful angle. Simply put, it does not work. Despite this – and the fact that the story mode is shorter and easier than we’d like (we never even failed a level until the final boss) – it’s an enjoyable ride. That, however, is a fraction of what LittleBigPlanet 2 has to offer.

The rest revolves around Create mode. This is the level creation tool that the developers themselves used to create the story mode from start to finish and as such, is incredibly versatile and powerful. In fact, it has been so much improved from Create in LBP 1, it makes that game seem almost perversely restrictive (no mean feat).

There are over 50 tutorials for Create, all once again perfectly narrated by Stephen Fry (who has been roped into much more narration overall). You can ignore them all and jump straight in if you wish, though all but the most experienced LBP creators would be well advised to go through at least a handful.

Once you’re confident you’ve got a handle on things, you can get creating. LBP 1 veterans will find that the basic setup is largely unchanged; music, backgrounds, objects etc. are chosen via the ‘Popit’ menu, and you can draw completely new shapes and objects into existence with the controller. The new options are far too many to list and explain here; the music sequencer for making your own music, the logic gates for more complicated programming, the ‘creatinator’ (a gun that fires out anything you tell it to), the ‘controlinator’ (which, for example, allows you to assign controls to all buttons and both sticks for a vehicle you’ve made for your level). And much more. It may sound daunting, but it’s all presented in the most user friendly way possible.

Special mention must go to the sackbots – AI sackfolk that you can use in your levels. You can dress them up in any skins, costumes, or combinations thereof that you own (a sly way of making DLC costumes appeal to more people, perhaps). Even better than that is the control you have over their behaviour. They can simply stand around looking cute if you want; but you can also make them attack, flee from, or follow players. Best of all you can make them ‘act’; take control of the sackbot in Create, then record actions for it to perform as and when you decree.

If you’ve ever had dreams of becoming a games designer, LittleBigPlanet 2 is worth the money several times over for Create alone. You won’t find a cheaper, more user friendly game creation tool anywhere – and famously, Media Molecule are in the habit of hiring people whose levels impress them the most. But what if you have little to no interest in making and showing off your own creations?

The feature that has perhaps been most instrumental in allowing new genres to be explored proves to have been the ability to tweak the level of gravity, which leads neatly to the final chunk of LittleBigPlanet – the user created levels. Go online, and you’ll find literally millions of user created levels (though that includes all the ones imported from LBP 1). Thankfully, search options have been poked and prodded to make digging up levels that interest you easier, and there is now an ‘MM Picks’ list for levels so impressive, Media Molecule feel the need to promote them themselves.

Platformers, twin stick shooters, short movies, top down racers… all these and much more have been provided – for free – by the community. When considering our score deduct one mark if you never intend to make a level yourself, two marks if you don’t take your PS3 online, and two marks if you’re instantly distrustful of anything that looks this damn cute.

It turns out that not only is RaphaeI (‘I’ at the end, not ‘L’) the author of this incredible flOw tribute, but he’s also a Polish man who can speak English better than many English people we know. Is there anything the guy can’t do?

CG: Did you make this level (flOw) from scratch, or was it first created in LBP 1? If the latter, how have you been able to improve it with LBP 2 features?

RaphaeI: The level was made in the LBP2 beta from scratch. There was not really much to make; the creature, some food creatures and the boss. Those were all the shapes I needed.

CG: How long did the level take to create?

RaphaeI: About a weekend and two-three long evenings. Everything worked quite well on the first day, but seeing how well it replicated the original I decided to spend more time to polish it. Add sound / music, different depths etc. to make it a full, polished level and publish it.

CG: Did you expect your level to get the amount of attention it did?

RaphaeI: No, not really. As in the original game this type of gameplay is not really popular (actually not many people played it more than just a few bites before quitting). The level was probably MM picked because it’s a great showcase for freedom and flexibility of the new LBP2 tools.

CG: What levels do you admire, from either game?

RaphaeI: I can not specify any concrete level but I’m always blown-away with what people do with the 3D glitch.

CG: Are you working on any more levels at the moment?

RaphaeI: I’m only playing around with the Create mode, but if any of that will turn into a level worth publishing… I don’t know. I don’t publish unfinished stuff.

CG: Any tips for other LBP creators?

RaphaeI: It’s always good to plan things out on paper before starting to build a level from a blank. Heh, I’m not really the one that should give LBP creator tips to others…

CG: What’s your most favourite thing about the LBP 2 beta… and your least favourite?

RaphaeI: Most favourite, that they gave us an easy to use, fully fledged programming language based on logic. With emitters and sackbots, and control over things like movement, gravity, cameras etc. so many things are now possible. The least favourite, that I don’t have enough free time to try and make everything that comes to my mind…

The video used in this article is taken from ChimpanzeePS3′s YouTube channel, as this channel is unofficially approved by Media Molecule. ChimpanzeePS3 is in no way affiliated with Critical Gamer or any of its staff.

One of the first levels to be leaked onto YouTube (NOT by ChimpanzeePS3!) before the lifting of the LBP 2 beta NDA, Sackro Machines 2 has been a hit with beta testers and jealous outsiders alike. Now that the NDA is just a memory, the level’s creator Splapp-me-do talks to Critical Gamer about LBP creating, making Sackro Machines – and seeing it leaked.

CG: Did you make this level (Sackro Machines 2) from scratch, or was it first created in LBP 1? If the latter, how have you been able to improve it with LBP 2 features?

Splapp-me-do: It was made from scratch in LBP2. I’ve had experience with the LBP1 tools though.

CG: How long did the level take to create?

Splapp-me-do: The first Sackro Machines track I made took about 3 hours on and off. Most of the 3 hours was spent actually decorating the track and making it look pretty, getting the actual cars up and running was surprisingly simple. They started off as a single block of cardboard with a controlinator seat attached. It was then a case of adding a mover for forwards/backwards movement, and a rotator for steering and hooking them up to the buttons/analogue stick on the controlinator. I spent a bit of time tweaking the movers and rotator to make it fun to drive, added an anti gravity tweaker to it and it was ready to go!

Sackro Machines 2, I spent more time on… probably around 5 or 6 hours. Again, most of the time was spent on laying out the track and making it look nice – the cars have the same logic as the ones from Sackro Machines… it was as simple as copying the microchip across onto the new cars.

CG: Did you expect your level to get the amount of attention it did?

Splapp-me-do: Not at all! I had a feeling that everyone would try to imitate Micro Machines using the new tools. I used to love Micro Machines when I was younger, so I just had to make a LittleBigPlanet version of it… so I just plodded along making the level, published it and went offline and forgot about it. Next time I came back, it was on the Cool Levels page and had an MM Pick. Couldn’t believe it!

CG: How do you feel about your level being leaked onto YouTube before the lifitng of the NDA?

Splapp-me-do: I didn’t mind that my level had been leaked, to be honest. I knew it was breaking the NDA, but after reading all of the positive comments on the video I was just sort of… grinning like a maniac. However, I did mind that Joystiq had credited the guy that leaked the videos as the creator of the levels! That kind of annoyed me

CG: What levels do you admire, from either game?

Splapp-me-do: My favourite level from LBP1 is “The Miracle of Life” by Poms. It’s just a really awesome level, brilliantly made, amazing creatures and contraptions and really fun to play. Another of my faves is “Digitized Reality” by steve_big_guns. Again, really well made and great fun to play. In fact most of, if not all of, these two creators’ levels are amazing.

CG: Are you working on any more levels at the moment?

Splapp-me-do: I haven’t started working on any new levels yet, but I’ve been spending a lot of time fiddling around in Create mode experimenting with the new tools. I’ve got a couple of ideas that would make fun levels, so once I’ve decided if they’ll work or not I might start building them. I’ve also been throwing ideas around for a new Sackro Machines track (possibly on the beach), so there’s always that.

CG: Any tips for other LBP creators?

Splapp-me-do: Hmm… well I always find that the best way to learn how to use new tools is to dive into Create mode and just muck about with them. I guess that’s my tip! It sometimes gives me ideas for whole levels too.

CG:What’s your most favourite thing about the LBP 2 beta… and your least favourite?

Splapp-me-do: Most favourite: New tools and graphical upgrades

Least favourite: It crashes too much!

The video used in this article is taken from ChimpanzeePS3′s YouTube channel, as this channel is unofficially approved by Media Molecule. ChimpanzeePS3 is in no way affiliated with Critical Gamer or any of its staff.

With nothing more than a little mopping up left to do from our Eurogamer Expo coverage, we continue our focus on the unsung stars of the LittleBigPlanet 2 beta; the community creators. Today: GruntosUK.

CG: Did you make this level (Sackometry Wars) from scratch, or was it first created in LBP 1? If the latter, how have you been able to improve it with LBP 2 features?

GruntosUK: I created it solely in the LBP2 beta. I don’t think it would be even possible in LBP, simply for the controls. Plus it uses a lot of emitters, and the new way the engine calculates emitted objects kept it within the thermometer’s boundaries. And it uses holographic material, because it’s based on Geometry Wars and the mechanics rely on overlapping materials.

CG: How long did the level take to create?

GruntosUK: I’d have said around 10/11 hours start to finish. I had the basic enemies and controls done in a couple of hours, then spent maybe another 3 or 4 adding in another type of enemy, the effects, the play area and generally tightening it all up. I published the first version after that was complete.

After a lot of feedback I spent another 5/6 and basically revamped most it except the craft itself. I added a HUD, Megabombs, more enemies, more waves and much tighter controls.

I’d like to add more actually, but behind the scenes is pretty much a mess, and I don’t want to attempt to untangle it all. I have since learned to use notes and make things tidy as I go now though

CG: Did you expect your level to get the amount of attention it did?

GruntosUK: Not really, I knew friends might have a play, and I might get a couple of people coming across it but I thought most people would be in Create to be honest. I’d had fun making it and learning as I went along, and still enjoy playing it so anything else was a bonus.

The MM pick was a great surprise and when lbp.me was opened I was blown away it had over 7000 unique plays . Most of my levels on LBP1 don’t have that.

CG: What levels do you admire, from either game?

GruntosUK: There are literally hundreds from the first game, many many creators and many more levels; hearted lists are always the best place to begin. From there move to other people’s hearted levels from levels you have enjoyed – Morgana25′s list is a great place to start. I know I will mention some and forget others and want to change it so I’ll leave it at that.

Luos_83 has made a fantastic level, his Caves Of The New Beh’ta level is awesome, as is faith_rips Ice Age level, two traditional LBP levels using the new features really well. Fyshokid’s Audio Visuals and Stereo/Mono are fabulous, as are LadyLyn’s movie levels. And I have loved most, if not all, multiplayer mini games I’ve played; great fun with plenty of laughs to be had.

CG: Are you working on any more levels at the moment?

GruntosUK: At the moment no, I’m just playing around with the movie camera and sackbots. I have got an idea, to do a small trailer movie and a typical LBP platformer, but whether I get the time to finish is another thing.

CG: Any tips for other LBP creators?

GruntosUK: Always get your gameplay right first, make it pretty afterwards and take in any feedback you get. “Generally” the player is always right

CG: What’s your most favourite thing about the LBP 2 beta… and your least favourite?

GruntosUK: My most favourite thing, definitely the experimentation with the wealth of new tools and features available to use. I’m being extremely erratic in Create mode because of this, always finding new things to play with for a couple of hours before getting completely sidetracked with something else.

The worst is most certainly not being able to keep what we make. There’s some mind-blowing stuff on the beta at the moment, with the promise of even better stuff to come along. It would be a great kick to the start of the game if they could be carried over for the first couple of weeks after release. Plus I’ve got some stuff for future projects I’d like to keep a hold of.

The video used in this article is taken from ChimpanzeePS3′s YouTube channel, as this channel is unofficially approved by Media Molecule. ChimpanzeePS3 is in no way affiliated with Critical Gamer or any of its staff.

• Format: PSP
• Unleashed: Out Now
• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
• Developer: Studio Cambridge
• Players: 1
• Site: http://www.littlebigplanet.com/

When LittleBigPlanet was in development a lot of people laughed at it; people said it would fail, tragically. Why would you want to have to make your own levels? How could a side scrolling platformer survive in this world of CoDs, GTAs and Drake’s Fortunes? Well, now that it’s had time to root itself into the PlayStation community what we see today tells a different story, one where LBP has amassed a ton of fans and if two million or so levels won’t convince you of its popularity then we’re lost on how to persuade you of it.

Following in the original LBP’s footsteps comes the PSP version, and from the moment you switch it on and hear Mr. Fry’s voice, you know it’s going to be fun. The first level from the main selection is sure to make you smile, as the similarity to its bigger brother is uncanny. What you see on-screen is as close to the PS3 version as the PSP could possibly muster and that is a very good thing. As you traverse the levels, you’ll find them to be a little trickier than what you might be used to and the omission of a third ‘plain’ will become obvious within the first twenty minutes to those who have played this on PS3. Not that this is a terrible problem, but what it means is that the developers have had to come up with some devilishly cunning level design to compensate.

PSP LBP certainly carries the same charm and warmth as its predecessor and you’ll soon find yourself leaping, grabbing and pulling switches quite merrily like there’s no such thing as a PS3. No doubt on your journey you’ll be left looking at the screen with a quizzical expression resembling the old Cat Vs Balloon conundrum while wondering how to obtain those out-of-reach prize bubbles from time to time, but you’ll be safe in the knowledge that you can return for them later. Themes within the levels are similar to the first game but diverge with things such as Egyptian, Australian and Hollywood themes, all of which encompass varying degrees of fun stuff ranging from construction sites, camel and dragon rides, theme parks, giant robots and even Mission Impossible parody levels. These are stuffed with tricky platforms (but never too tricky) and silly humour that will keep you playing right through to the end.

The level creator is where you’ll likely be heading to straight after (or even before) you complete the other pre-made levels. Now before we go any further, we’d like to point out that we’re not saying the level creator is broken exactly, just a little under par with what we’re used to. There are the perfectionists amongst us and nowhere is that more obvious than in the PS3 LBP online community levels, if you feel you’re one of them then you’d better listen up: First off copying and pasting objects with ease is out! You’ll have to capture it, poppit, select it, then paste it, no more L3-ing for you! Also, once you’ve made that object – that’s it stuck at that size. If you want a smaller version then you’ll have to make it all over again. Stickers will only go on the front of objects, they won’t wrap around them and they won’t stick to score bubbles, entrances or continue doors. Our biggest problem with the level creator; you can’t draw shapes! You can’t draw or make something just by moving the nub around and holding ‘X’, to make a unique shape you’ll have to draw out the basic outline with a small square or circle attached to a locked grid then use the corner editor to mould the basic shape into what you want. If the shape is too complex (which is often the case) the Line Re-shaper tool can get a little confused, not only making it difficult to make natural looking shapes, but changing them with any precision can be frustrating. Really we only found other small limitations concerning the creation aspect, things like not being able to change the size of the score or prize bubbles, and it seemed we could only put our own creations in prize bubbles too. Our other gripe was not being able to skip the tutorials; luckily we find Stephen Fry to be rather amusing, so we didn’t complain too much! With all that said, the ‘Static’ and ‘Dynamic’ selections are a welcome change. Choosing the Static option will allow any material to hover/float like dark matter from the PS3 game which we found rather useful.

If you stick with it all of the above can be forgiveable (it just makes the creation aspect of LBP a little longer and more fiddly than it should be) but once you re-programme your brain to compensate, creating unique and fun levels will glean the same pride and sense of accomplishment as it once did before, or if you’re new to LBP and don’t have a PS3, ignore everything we’ve said in the last few minutes and just get creating! If you get bored of that, or if creating isn’t your thing, then there’s a load of other pre-created levels to download made by other people too. Failing that, there’s a whole bunch of other stuff to download from the PSP network including costumes, level kits and other stuff.

What all this amounts to is one of the most expansive games available for the PSP, and at a general price of £25 you really can’t go wrong with it.

Perhaps LittleBigPlanet should have been released in the summer?

As we move into the summer months the release of major games becomes a trickle, much like a water supply during a summer drought. It’s a phenomenon that has been synonymous with gaming for years, as publishers put all their efforts into pushing their titles for the Christmas market. Unfortunately this glut of games leads to some gems getting left on the shelves as uneducated parents flock to buy the latest entry in the FIFA or Call of Duty franchises.

Games like LittleBigPlanet, Mirrors Edge etc have all suffered due to coming up against the Christmas big hitters. Christmas may be the time when people spend the most money, but there’s only so far hard working parents’ cash can go, and when faced with the dilemma of buying popular games like FIFA, or buying an unknown but critically acclaimed title like LittleBigPlanet, then the choice is simple. They’ll go for the known quantity every time. As an example of a lost sale, I recently purchased Dead Space second hand on a well known online auction site, as it’s a game I was always keen to play; but at the time it was released my Christmas budget could only stretch so far, and so a sale was lost to the developer. If it had been released a couple of months later the story would have been quite different.

Red Dead Redemption should flourish during the summer drought, like predecessor GTA IV.

Last Christmas saw several big games feeling the pressure of coming up against the COD juggernaut, and moving their release dates into 2010. Games like Bioshock 2 and Red Dead Redemption were sensibly shifted to the first half of the year and I’m sure their sales will get a boost as a result. They could easily have been lost in the Christmas wilderness, and then found a couple of months later at bargain basement prices, but sensibly the developers chose to bide their time and release them when the competition wasn’t so fierce.

While these moves are a step in the right direction, I still feel mid and late summer has a dearth of decent titles, and goes completely against what the movie industry do, when the biggest blockbusters are released during the summer months. A game like LittleBigPlanet would flourish during the summer, and as Nintendo have shown with Mario Kart Wii, sales can be very strong during this period, with the classic karting game still in the retail top 10 throughout the summer months. They are also releasing Super Mario Galaxy 2 this summer, which should hopefully see it doing good business. If more companies showed this kind of forward thinking then we wouldn’t have to rely on our Christmas games to see us through the summer.

So what can you do when the AAA titles dry up? Well you could trawl the games stores for bargains from previous years. How about Fallout 3, the aforementioned LittleBigPlanet, Far Cry 2, or Okami? All these games can now be found for bargain prices in most stores, and are well worth picking up if you’re bored with the games you have. You could also check out your own collection, as I’m sure there is a title in there that you haven’t played much, if at all! I know I have several titles that I need to delve back into, that I have only played the odd 10 minutes of. There are also countless games to download from Xbox Live and PSN which are well worth a look. Games like Braid, Flower, and LostWinds are all great, original titles, and have a lot more to offer than some so-called blockbuster titles. If you feel guilty playing games indoors when the sun is shining outside, take your PSP or DS with you and enjoy the best of both worlds. You could also use this time of year to try a different genre than you usually play. FPSs like COD and Halo are great, but you do get jaded with them after a while. Why not try an RPG like Fallout 3 or Persona 4? A strategy game like Settlers 7 or Advance Wars, or a puzzle game like Professor Layton? There is a lot more to gaming than FPSs, and you might be surprised to find a game that really sparks your gaming Mojo.

What to do? Cut the grass or play a videogame? Tough choice!

So what are your plans for when the drought finally hits? Personally I’ve got Fallout 3, Dead Space, Bioshock 2 and Red Dead Redemption to tide me through the summer months. It’s either that or I’ll be out cutting the grass. Now whatever happened to Lawnmower Simulator?

Surprisingly charismatic industry analyst Michael Pachter was again good enough to talk to us. Unfortunately however, one answer he gave saw him stumble into the subject of British (e.g. proper) football. If you don’t want to see the results, look away now…

CG: What do you think we’re most likely to see at E3?

Michael: I think that this year’s E3 is going to be focused more on hardware than usual, with the official unveiling of Natal, a lot of focus on the 3DS, and continued demos for Move. While there are several “big” games planned for the back half of the year, the biggest announcements are the hardware ones, with pricing for all unveiled, and the first hands on opportunities with Natal.

CG: Media Molecule – specifically, two of the level designers and the game’s producer – told us that a fully fledged LittleBigPlanet 2 would be “counterproductive” (when we interviewed them last year), as it would fragment the community. What do you make of the LBP 2 rumours?

Michael: It’s hard to say what they plan for LBP. Clearly, they could add new tools and environments, but that could be done with downloads for the first game. I think we’ll see LBP 3D, and don’t think that is a 2010 event.

CG: Do you have much time to check gaming magazines/websites/podcasts, etc? If so, which are your favourites, and what do you think of the quality of videogames journalism in general?

Michael: I look at a ton of gaming websites, and my favorites are the ones that give me the most timely information. I regularly check Kotaku (they break a lot of news), Joystiq, and the more business oriented sites like GamesIndustry.biz, Edge Online and IndustryGamers.com. I look at a lot of review sites, and Giant Bomb is probably my favorite.

CG: With no signs of a Wii HD in 2010, could this mean Nintendo are saving the HD feature for a planned successor?

Michael: There is a Wii HD in 2010, it’s just called PS3 with Move . . .  I suppose Nintendo can save the feature for their next generation console, but think that they are running the risk that Sony and Microsoft will capture the “trade up” market by moving now with Move and Natal.

Wii HD? Oh Michael, no wonder the fanboys love you so.

CG: Do Move and Natal have the mainstream appeal necessary to drive hardware sales? Will ‘hardcore’ gamers stick with these devices, or could one or both prove to be a passing fad?

Michael:It’s hard to say what will happen with Natal and Move until we see more software.  If it’s great, hard core gamers will embrace the technology; if it sucks, they won’t.

CG: What do you consider to be the most likely features of a ‘premium’, paid – for PSN package? Would it be fair to say that free online play is a powerful marketing tool, that Sony are not foolish enough to discard?

Michael: I really can’t say what Sony will do. It seems to me that online game play can bear a monthly subscription (something as affordable as $50/year), and knowing that all of the server infrastructure costs Sony a ton, I’m surprised that they haven’t imposed a charge yet. Free online play is a good marketing tool, but I don’t often hear consumers say “I bought a PS3 because PSN is free”. Everyone likes free services, but more often, I hear people say “I bought a 360 because of Xbox Live”. I think that demonstrates that people will pay a modest amount for value-added services, and Microsoft keeps adding value. Sony gives a ton of value for free, but the company isn’t so profitable that it can afford to be magnanimous forever.

All free things must come to an end?

CG: When are the seemingly inevitable PSP 2 and DS 2 announcements most likely to be made? Would Sony concede the PSP Go has been a failure, and offer some sort of part exchange program?

Michael: The DS2 seems to be the 3DS. I could be wrong, but I think that is the successor. Sony is likely working on something, but I don’t expect them to concede anything this year.

CG: Tribal declarations of allegiance to distant companies and people are common in sport, but arguably more rabidly fervent and widespread amongst gamers. Why do you think this is?

Michael: I think the tribal declarations of allegiance are similar to individual affinity for neighborhood, religion, political party, school, etc.  This allegiance is no more than a statement that “I selected (fill in the blank) as my (console, school, religion, political party, neighborhood), and since I am a very wise person, I made an absolutely brilliant decision.  If you don’t agree with me, then go f*** yourself”.” I disagree that it’s more rabidly fervent and widespread amongst gamers—you’re from the UK, tell me that there is anyone in Manchester who isn’t a ManU fan.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Critical Gamer implores any Manchester City fans reading this to resist the urge to hunt and kill Michael Pachter. Forgive him, he knows not what he does. We also apologise to any Manchester United fans in our audience; because they have, of course, never even been to Manchester.

CG: What needs to happen in order for mainstream media to afford videogames the same respect as movies? Is this even possible?

Michael: Movies have respect because we worship the “artists” (actors and directors).  The games industry has largely anonymous artists, who could be exceedingly wealthy, but who can walk down the street unmolested. Who even knows the names of the guys at Rocksteady games? I checked into a hotel at DICE while talking to Alex Evans, and the clerk recognized me by sight, and didn’t know who Alex was even after I said his name. That’s tragic, but until guys like Alex are chased by groupies, videogames won’t garner the same respect as film.

At Sony’s GDC 2010 press conference the final name of their motion controller was revealed along with a slew of games. The aptly named Playstation Move will retail later this year for under $100 and will include one controller unit, one Playstation Eye, and an unannounced game. The Move will also be sold without the Playstation Eye and in an upcoming PS3 bundle.

Along with the announcement came a slew of game demos including popular retail games like Little Big Planet and SOCOM 4. Little Big Planet for Playstation Move will allow players to alternate between platforming as Sackboy or manipulating the environment via a cursor. While it was shown as more of a co-op experience in the demo, there’s a lot of potential for improved level creation via the Move controller.

SOCOM 4 was shown via live demonstration using the Playstation Move in conjunction with an additional controller. This extension featured additional buttons, an analog stick, and it was announced that it would be sold separately. As for the game itself, it looked early but solid, with some basic action and somewhat destructible environments. It was stated that the game could be played with or without the Playstation Move.

Also on display were a slew of smaller games that should look familiar to anyone who has played Wii Sports. There was archery, golf, table tennis, and a simple fighting game, not to mention the familiar visuals of a happy family jumping around in front of their couch.

One of the more unique functions of the Playstation Move is its mix of motion control and the Eye Toy. Move Party, a simple mini-game collection, matches the camera eye with the colored tip of the Move controller, allowing the game to display players on-screen holding tennis rackets and fly swatters. An Eye Pet game offered similar functionality squarely aimed at a younger demographic.

Lastly, Motion Fighters, another live demonstration, gives players the chance to participate in a motion-controlled fighting game. It seemed to require two Move controllers, and while some of the grapple moves looked fun, like most the demos shown, it was clearly still in an early state.

In many ways, the Playstation Move feels like Sony playing catch-up with the Wii rather than offering something new. Still, the integration into full-scale games like Little Big Planet and SOCOM is an exciting step towards the potential future of motion controlled games.

Do you like pirates and sack people? If so you are in for a treat, otherwise, well, you’ll still probably find some fun in it if the above video is anything to go by.

This trailer for the Pirates of the Caribbean DLC pack for Little Big Planet seems to show off some quite nice looking stuff, with set pieces and references from the movies Little Big Planeted. This is definitely more than just a skin pack.

Features include the addition of water, five brand new Pirates of the Caribbean levels, new music tracks, a level background, eight materials, 14 decorations, 27 objects, 133 stickers and 11 new Playstation trophies. Splendid.

The Pirates of the Caribbean DLC pack for Little Big Planet will be available on the Playstation Network December 22, giving you a couple of days before Christmas to make things piratey for Sackboy and chums.

You can't get more hardcore than 4 player Mario Kart.

Since the days of my Spectrum I have always had the chance to host, or go to someone else’s to enjoy, a gaming session. This continued with my Amiga and in the years of the N64 to Playstation 2 it reached the apex of commitment with regular gaming sessions with four close friends.

We would spend an entire afternoon or evening eating junk food, generating lots of hot wind and playing a mixture of ‘retro’ and new titles on our consoles. The floor would be a mess of wires as we would have a PS2, Gamecube and Xbox all laid out in front of us. We would enjoy some nerdy banter, especially whenever the Xbox was taken out and switched on. The jokes mainly revolved around having to run the virus checker first and Bios before we could play a game. Other gags included us ribbing the Xbox owner that we were required to notify the national grid before we switched it on so they could arrange extra capacity.

These were good sessions.

Over time people changed, as did the games and machines. We grew older, worked harder, rediscovered reading, perhaps learned new interests such as running, religion, philosophy or even had children. This in time resulted in people becoming less committed to the get-togethers. Being the most enthusiastic of the group I tried to hold it together and keep my friends connected to the gaming world. I would send them an email round up every couple of weeks covering what I was playing and why – and what I was looking forward to playing. It would have made a good blog actually, but it was just for them. It was appreciated; so much so that I used to get requests if I had not sent one in a while.

A great multiplayer game - but only if you like playing music. Otherwise it's a rather expensive way of collecting strangely shaped bits of plastic.

That was then, but now I do not send gaming emails. I know there is no point. My mates are not really interested and no longer request them. I’ve tried to get them back into gaming. One of my friends bought a Wii, the same time I did – launch time. I really thought he would get into it, but it is being used as a party game, which he brings out once in a blue moon if guests are round. He did get himself addicted to WoW (which he has now stopped playing, patiently waiting for Star Trek – which I am too!) which was great in many ways as we could still chat gaming in general – but there was no shared experience. He even got himself on a US server to save money, so when I bought the game trying to play with him, I couldn’t.

Xbox Live and to a lesser extent, PSN are great. They really are – but all too often other players don’t have headsets and when they do, we often get abuse or daft comments through our headsets. Perhaps a new default matchmaking option would be to only include games with people who have headsets? Or, where I can choose to only play with people who speak the same language as me, at least giving me a list of choices – it would be a great way of practising one’s GCSE French or German.. I would also like an option to avoid people who are twats.

So I find myself in a situation where my erstwhile gaming mates have lost interest. Not only that, but they lost their gaming skills, as demonstrated by the fact that when we did have a little session a while back they were useless! 0 kills in Halo 3 would be around their best mark! Remarkable for guys who grew up on TimeSplitters and Quake!

However, I’m not attacking them, but the industry. At some point my friends got left behind. People don’t stop watching movies, or completely stop viewing TV. You don’t suddenly say ‘theatre has nothing to offer you’, but gaming is not able to retain large numbers of people. Both the hardcore and casual companies share this problem. The hardcore offerings are too hardcore and the casual offerings are often so gimmicky that traditional gamers dismiss them. They do this whether they are currently gaming or not, as once a hardcore gamer always one!

I’m not saying games have failed to progress or improve in this generation. I love them, and think they are amazingly immersive. But still, they are not engaging my friends. One of them got an Xbox 360 Elite through work (long story) but he doesn’t really touch it We have had some Halo 3 sessions and chatted away on our headsets, which is cool. Not as cool as our old fashioned ‘being in the same room as each other’ sessions though.

Forget Modern Warfare 2! Timesplitters is where the action is.

So, what is the solution? I’m not too sure. For me, it’s important that developers don’t drop split screen multiplayer from their offerings. It’s so rare to see split screen in many games and when they do have it, the game usually only offers 2 player and not four. Developers claim it’s because the graphics take a performance hit. That’s ok – I can handle that. Not a problem. The in room atmosphere more than makes up for it! The great thing about ‘in room’ multiplayer is that apart from the wise-arse who owns the game, everyone else is often on an equal footing and the built in ‘matchmaking’ often works better than the online version. Having four player split screen helps to make hardcore games accessible.

There is nothing like four mates, in the same room, playing a game. It’s the banter, the arguing (about what game to play), the fact you can look at the other player’s screen and work out where he is on the map you know inside out, the ordeal in agreeing what pizza to order and of course the look on the wife’s or girlfriend’s face when they come back from a day out to find the mess and that no one has left the room for a whole day.

Yet finding anyone motivated enough to share this experience with me is becoming harder and harder.

Maybe I just have the wrong mates?