Two ways LittleBigPlanet Karting improves on ModNation Racers
LittleBigPlanet Karting comes out tomorrow--although you probably wouldn't know it based on Sony's anemic marketing for it. Some have written it...
LittleBigPlanet Karting comes out tomorrow--although you probably wouldn't know it based on Sony's anemic marketing for it. Some have written it off as ModNation Racers with a LittleBigPlanet skin. And while that isn't entirely inaccurate, I'd like to point out two notable enhancements made to Karting.
First are the load times. Perhaps the greatest flaw of United Front's original play, create, share racer were the minute-long loads that preceded every race. Spending 20 percent of your play time looking at a load screen is not entertainment--and thankfully, that's been thoroughly rectified in LBPK. The developer had to rewrite the engine from scratch, and the end result is as clear as night and day.
The more significant change LBPK makes over its ModNation predecessor comes through the game's creation tools. When we first saw the game at E3, promised that you could create modes that are not just races. However, we didn't know that you could make entirely different games.
"If you are familiar with the scripting language of LittleBigPlanet 2, you're going to feel right at home," design director William Ho told us. And yes, the editor does look more LBP than MNR. In fact, the Karting editor is even more powerful than the one that shipped in LBP2 because it runs in 3D. Whereas creators had to work within LittleBigPlanet's limited three-layer system, Karting lets you create full 3D worlds.
Yes, that is a first-person shooter running in LittleBigPlanet Karting's engine. While this user-created "track" from the game's beta is quite rudimentary, it shows off how powerful the game's tools are. In fact, at a recent preview event at Sony Santa Monica, I saw an even more polished FPS experience from a developer at United Front. I also saw a fully 3D tower defense game that makes the 2D ones created in LBP2 seem antiquated.
LittleBigPlanet Karting will be available on PS3 tomorrow. It'll be fascinating to see what the community makes with the game's powerful creation tools--y'know, if they ever find out about the game to begin with.
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Shacknews
replyAndrew Yoon posted a new article, Two ways LittleBigPlanet Karting improves on ModNation Racers.
LittleBigPlanet Karting comes out tomorrow--although you probably wouldn't know it based on Sony's anemic marketing for it. Some have written it...-
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Should every sequel entitle owners of the predecessor a rebate? Should you get a rebate when a new iPhone comes out, for example? Technology!
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When a game is so shitty that it has to be rebuilt from the ground up and re-released, yes.
See: Final Fantasy XIV
You sound like a complete twat
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Embargoes lift tomorrow. Shack won't have a review, however.
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I did the AC3 and MOH review (and I'm working on quite a few other ones right now too...). Unfortunately, LBPK sort of slipped through the cracks. Maybe if I find some extra time!
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YES! Mine shipped :D I can't wait to play it!
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I'm buying this on super duper sale tomorrow and tucking it away for Xmas. Will be a good family game.
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Shh. It's a secret.
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I have a FS flyer that says $9.99 tomorrow. Go get it boys!
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FS?
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These are the 2 main reasons LBPK is better than MNR? Loading times?? No one likes loading times, and MNR's are quite long when comparing them with current games. But it's not like it interferes with the gameplay. It's not loading after every lap! I do agree with the latter statement though. I just wish I could get more excited for this game as I don't really like the LBP look to it. at all.
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One of the things that made me sad about MNR's track tools was the ineffectual props. I'd spend days, weeks even on a track getting the risk/reward mechanics just right only to discover that people better than me at the game physics themselves, were beating me at my own tracks after the 1st lap. Why? Because my track was broken. Those little mini jumps you can take (even the ones complete with a boost pad) were being ignored because they actually SLOWED you down even when placed in strategic places cutting corners along the tracks. Those mud puddles? Just cosmetic window dressing. There was no point in avoiding them. And to add insult to injury, the snow theme that we waited a year for to Buy HAD to offer slippery road conditions right? Right?? nope. nothing. If LBPK fixes these things without having to spend hours on learning the "tutorial codes" to do it, then that'll be awesome. But I currently have my doubts. ...and I'm hoping I'm wrong to worry.
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About the 2nd way LBPK will be better than MNR's...One of the things that made me sad about MNR's track tools were the ineffectual props. I'd spend days, weeks even on a track getting the risk/reward mechanics just right only to discover that people better than me at the game physics themselves, were beating me at my own tracks after the 1st lap. Why? Because my track was broken. Those little mini jumps you can take (even the ones complete with a boost pad) were being ignored because they actually SLOWED you down even when placed in strategic places cutting corners along the tracks. Those mud puddles? Just cosmetic window dressing. There was no point in avoiding them. And to add insult to injury, the snow theme that we waited a year for to Buy HAD to offer slippery road conditions right? Right?? nope. nothing. If LBPK fixes these things without having to spend hours on learning the "tutorial codes" to do it, then that'll be awesome. But I currently have my doubts. ...and I'm hoping I'm wrong to worry.
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