Little Big Adventure. It’s a pretty sweet community level. Unfortunately I think I broke it. You’ll note there is no level link at the beginning of this. That’s because “PlayStationNetwork is unavailable due to maintenance.” Uh-huh. That’s what they’re saying. But I know the real reason is I broke it. Sorry everybody.
I didn’t mean to. I was just cruising along collecting things when I was instructed to put on a bubble-shooting hat and jump on the bubbles. It took me a few tries to figure out that you don’t really jump on the bubbles. You jump and look down hold down R1 and bubbles lift you through the level on a lovely little bubble elevator. I liked that. It was a cool way to get around. Then I noticed that the bubbles I was shooting were adding to my score. Huh. What if I just sat there shooting bubbles? Just wedged myself against the ceiling and held down R1?
Well, a couple things happen. Your scoring multiplier goes up to a hundred. You get about forty million points. The scoring counter freezes. I’m not the only one to do this. I currently share first place with two other people who did this. But right after I did it I was summarily signed out of the PSN and it went down. So, mea culpa. I didn’t see any of that coming. Speaking of not seeing things coming…
After the jump, the wages of fear Continue reading →
The designer titles these levels with chapter numbers, and it’s best to honor this labeling scheme, for if you view them as sequels you’ll be disappointed. If you look at them as chapters, however, excitement can only follow.
A few weeks ago The Thief (Chapter 1) introduced me to a neat little LBP world. While the gameplay wasn’t particularly challenging, I loved moving through that world and was excited when I came to the end and found that the designer was not only promising more chapters, but actively working on them. This week’s featured levels are chapters two and three of The Thief community level series. Playing them is like getting to read a serialized novel, which is something I have not done since The Green Mile and The Thief makes me miss it. There’s something about wandering into a story as it is being created, and parceled out, that is infinitely appealing.
To be fair, the two chapters probably should have been a single level. The Thief Chp. 2 can barely stand on its own. But I like what the designer, ALADCV, is going for, and I love the atmosphere he is creating and the promise that attends it. I would like for him to settle on a format for his level titles, though, and it’s time for some variation in the music. Regardless, I sincerely hope he continues with this as a series. I don’t need more sequels in my life, but extra chapters are always welcome.
Click here for the previous Weekly Little Big Planet
November. Time for Starbucks to roll out the Xmas cups. Eff that. I’m sticking with Halloween for one more week.
Haunted Halloween. Like last week’s featured community level, this one is an entry for the LBN Platforming Perils contest. Also like last week’s level, the music here is questionable. Unlike last week’s level music it’s not terrible, though, just confusing and annoying. Confusing because the first half of the level is accompanied by the song Thriller and the second half by Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters theme song, and I don’t know how a community designer can use those songs and avoid falling into a licensing quagmire. Annoying because these are terrible synth versions of the songs, with some dude doing an amateur rendition of the Thriller read. Please…don’t do that. I beg you. Note to designers: voicing your own level is always a bad idea. Doing so while aping Vincent Price, a crime.
Music aside, the level is a decent platformer and has some really cool images. I just don’t understand why the Ghostbusters theme song is shoehorned into it. You can pay homage to the movie without subjecting us to that horrible song.
After the jump, listen, do you smell something? Continue reading →
You’d think a guy looking for some stupid so-bad-it’s-good horror could rely upon a movie titled Parasomnia to deliver. But no. Parasomnia has to go and betray me and be good. Thanks a lot, William Malone. You ruined my evening.
Of course when I say ‘good’ I really mean ‘student film good’ with a ridiculous amount of blue light filling the scenes and Lawnmower Man level special effects in the dream sequences and scads of amateur acting throughout and earnest lines that made me giggle. Still, good. Unexpectedly competent and creepy with an excellent discovery as its central performance. What the hell is going on here? I went in expecting a knock-off of those three movies that start with the same four letters as this one, something cheap and stupid. What I got is wholly its own thing, with some cool ideas and a decent payoff. Cheap, yes. Corny, sure. Still…good. And just when you thought spiral-eyed clowns had run their course!
When the name Dylan Purcell appeared in the opening credits I got nervous, thinking it was that slab of meat from The Gravedancers (see it while drinking with friends). Nope. Dylan Purcell is the son of actress Lee Purcell, and he’s really good in a Zach Braff kind of way. I don’t think he’s acting anymore, which is too bad. You don’t expect to find someone like him in a movie like this, especially when the female lead is…uh…let’s just say it’s a blessing her role calls for her to spend 90% of the movie asleep.
Some reasons you should watch Parasomnia, besides the lead actor: Sean Young gets an “And” before her name; the protagonist drives an AMC Pacer; great use of nose tape; one of those cute Starbucks bears makes an appearance; gum-chewing cops are always welcome; “He was a rare book dealer and a mesmerist” is how the killer is described. Also, it totally wins the Weird Nudity Award.
Parasomnia is available on Netflix Instant Watch Watch Instantly here.
A quick bit of advice. If you’re interested in playing a neat little Halloween-themed community level and you decide to give this week’s featured level, Halloween [Silhouette Platformer], a spin, crank down the volume on your television and put on some music of your own. Something moody, or something that has a creepy edge to it. Throw on Howard Shore’s History of Violence score, or Michael Nyman’s score for Gattaca. Heck, switch on just about anything by Clint Mansell. Just don’t listen to the music this designer has included. It is wretched, and he doesn’t care how many people tell him that. “No, I won’t change the music,” he says in his description text. “I like my level the way it is. Deal with it.”
While that statement does qualify him for the Douche of the Week Award, it’s also decent advice. The level is worth playing because it stands out as a silhouette platformer (a term I did not know before playing it). So many level designers are trying so hard to make their levels so very creepy and scary and Halloweeny, but they wind up with levels full of screaming that just feel generic. The visual style of this week’s level grabbed me immediately, evoking that feeling I get when I pull the Halloween bins out of the garage and my wife and kid start planting the decorations on the lawn. So…I found a way to “deal with it”…and you should too.
Now then, when it comes to being evocative…
After the jump, I think we’ll be okay now Continue reading →
I was never much of a flight simmer, but I’m pretty sure I’m doing it wrong in my little fighter plane up there. Going down in flames is probably the wrong move. Unfortunately it’s the move I’m best at executing, so every time I played this week’s level, Angels of the Sky, it ended the same way.
This means a couple of things, most notably never seeing the final boss of the level, which is supposed to be a formidable Zeppelin that has threatened to devastate the city. I’m bummed about that. Not about the city. I don’t even know what city I was supposedly protecting. I wanted to see that Zeppelin. Any time there’s a Zeppelin involved I want to see it. Of course my failure also means the destruction of several trusty RX-01 fighters. What I should have done is land my plane. I don’t own that plane, the taxpayers do!
I failed this level every time. Yet still I picked it as this week’s featured level. Curious.
After the jump, my ego writes more checks Continue reading →
Choosing a featured community level this week was tough. Nothing bowled me over, but I did find a couple of cool things. My dilemma: do I feature the challenging level that is far from perfect but has good elements? Or do I go with the goofy level that has no game play, but which made me laugh? Gaming has me grumpy this week, so I should probably go with the latter. Something light and amusing.
I’m not going to do that, though. You shouldn’t be shortchanged because of my mood.
Act 1-3: Feeding Frenzy. The designer describes it as a survival/horror platformer. While I like the sound of that, I’m not sure I’d go so far as to label it as such. Your sackboy does have to survive a horrific situation in the icy caves of Mt. Kalan, but I wouldn’t put this up there with a Resident Evil game or Fatal Frame, which I haven’t played but once tried to watch a buddy play. I had to leave the room. There’s nothing in Feeding Frenzy that comes close to–hold up a second. My phone’s buzzing. Let me just…crap. Another stupid notification. I’m sorry. This’ll only take a second.
What’s that iPhone? My sunflowers are ready for harvest? Unbelievable. I told you not to bother me about that while I’m working. What? My crops will spoil if I don’t log in right now? Damn it! You know what? Shut up iPhone. I’m not talking to you.
After the jump, the fault lies with… Continue reading →
This week’s featured community level made me skeptical at first, thinking I was in for a cheap version of the first stealth game I ever played. But The Thief is not that. It is its own unique experience, and it quickly hooked me. It’s got two elements–in addition to the nifty music that plays throughout–to recommend it. The jumping dynamic is great. Actually, it’s more of a leaping dynamic, for in this level when you press L1 your sackboy executes great leaps from cliff to cliff as he makes his escape from the netherworld. I really grooved on that. The other feature is ladder climbing, which in itself is no big deal but I don’t recall running across it before, and the sound your little sackdude makes as he climbs is reminiscent of the clomp of horse hooves. Put like that it sounds annoying, but for some reason I found it oddly enjoyable.
The best thing about The Thief is that while it is a complete playable level, it is also a work in progress. The level linked above is the first chapter, and the designer (ALADCV) notes that Chapter 2 is 5% done.
Actually, this was a very good week for LBP community levels. Every couple of months Weekly LBP has a week like this, and given that and the fact that there’s been a minor clamoring for more LBP in this column, let’s stick with it.
After the jump, hint hint Continue reading →
One of the things you have to know going in to the community levels of LBP is that sometimes you’re going to be used as a guinea pig. While I object to this–I have no more interest in beta testing a game than I have in seeing an unfinished preview of a movie–I’ve come to see it as the price of admission in experimenting with user-made levels. In certain cases I will make exceptions, however. If a friend needs to test out multiplayer for his review of an early build I’m happy to help out. If Wes Anderson wants to show a nearly finished print of his next film and then do a Q&A, I’ll go for that. But by and large, no thanks.
So I was annoyed as this week’s level, Boti-Boit, loaded and I realized it wasn’t a level at all, just a concept for a contest. I do not want to test out your contest concept. I finally got my kid to sleep and then had to spend half an hour futzing with my Internet connection because the latest PSN update knocked me offline. I’m bushed and I just want to play a little bit, not do your work for you. Except…
Boti-Boit is a really cool concept. The name is wholly inscrutable, to be sure, but the concept is simple and delightful. Your sackboy is on a huge rubber band ball, and you move him by bouncing the ball, poking in and out of platforms as you advance. That’s all there is to it. Hopefully the designer, someone named Kaumy, will eventually design a real level around it.
Click here for the previous Weekly Little Big Planet
Stumbling into the Cool Levels area of the community section is generally not advisable, mainly because of the Cool Rule of Thumb: if something labels itself as cool, it’s probably not. Every now and then I jump in there to check it out though, so you don’t have to. Think of this as a public service.
The topmost Cool Level on this recon trip was called The Casino Robbery. I’ve got heists on the brain after going to see the movie Drive this week and subsequently listening to some other show in which an Internet bozo (in this case, not me) complained that it’s a terrible heist movie. Really? Huh. Guess what, doofus, it’s also a terrible bio-pic. And historical drama. And sci-fi epic. And rom-com. Internet gasbags. Ugh. (In this case, again, not me.)
Casino Robbery is cool enough, I guess. It’s definitely value added, since you get to level link into its second and third parts while playing it, which makes it long. It’s a little blunt-force-trauma for my taste, so if carefully orchestrated robberies are your thing, avoid it. But if wearing a rocket launcher on your head and smashing everything in sight floats your boat, go for it.
I would have tried out more Cool Levels, but I had achievements to earn.
After the jump, too cool for school Continue reading →
My mission, should I choose to accept it, was to escort a gold-filled train through treacherous territory. Along the way I would have to knock out gigantic sticks of dynamite obstructing the track, take down a few tanks, sink a destroyer coming down the river, and blow up a few UFOs. All with my sackboy in a little toy helicopter.
One other thing. The characters driving the train are Buzz Lightyear and Woody.
This week I got to try out the Toy Story DLC for Little Big Planet 2. A friend of mine suggested I should give it a shot. For some reason he thinks I like the game. “But it’s probably just a bunch of goofy costumes and stickers,” he said. “So don’t get your hopes up.” I didn’t. I don’t really care for costumes (sorry Ken). It’s not that I’m not a collector, I’ve just come to be fond of the way I’ve kitted out my sackboy, so turning him into Slinky Dog doesn’t interest me. I gave the DLC a spin anyway.
It helped me win the Cold War.
After the jump, it’s a helicopter level! I know this! Continue reading →
Iced Wind is a cute adventure level where you scoot around in ice caves collecting bubbles. It certainly doesn’t have the personality of last week’s Toy Story level, but it’s a good little platformer I played last week. I actually meant to go back to a level I found too difficult to finish and try to figure out why it had given me such problems, but my PS3 pulled this updating scam on me where it insisted I had to download a 568MB update for LBP2 before I could play it. I freaking hate that forced-update scheme, but what’re they gonna do? They know that left to my own devices I’d put that off forever. Oh well. I’ve only got to wait 267 more minutes until it’s updated.
I wish there were a way I could be warned about those things. A little bell that would cause me to salivate and automatically know I had a wait ahead of me. Or a warning sent to my iPhone so I could schedule the update for when I’m cooking dinner and getting my kid to bed. Something. Instead I it takes me by surprise in that tiny window of time I have for gaming and annoys the hell out of me. I suppose there’s no way to train someone to expect this.
Because I don’t mind training. If it’s good. In point of fact, I love it.
After the jump: good for you, good for me, mmm good Continue reading →
Well that was unexpected. Another TOY STORY. This week’s community level. Should be sickeningly cute and childish, with annoying music. Nothing too taxing. Just enough to remind me why I love those movies so much and should steer clear of movie levels when playing this game.
Wrong. Another TOY STORY is challenging and gorgeous with a nifty sound design. Did I mention it was challenging? I can think of at least three spots where I thought I’d have to throw in the towel. I didn’t. I figured it out, and was pleasantly surprised. A movie-themed level that is smart and difficult. Not to mention evocative. Didn’t expect that.
I also didn’t expect to learn a lesson in gaming strategy from National Public Radio.
After the jump, the ants go marching in formation, hurrah hurrah Continue reading →
Confession time. That picture isn’t from LPB2. I have an inquiry in to the Screenshot Department of Weekly Little Big Planet, and I assure you that we will get to the bottom of this, because it is unacceptable. I’m told the inquiry has been forwarded to the Compliance Department of WLBP, since the problem isn’t with screenshots, but with playing time. Seems the head writer of this column spent all his gaming time this week playing pinball instead of…well…
The staff here at WLBP is on this, I assure you. The investigation so far has yielded little beyond lame excuses that blame the community levels for being cute but empty, too cinematic, decent but bog standard, and in one case too hard.
Preliminary findings suggest the real problem is that a gauntlet was thrown down. That is to say, one of the WLBP head writer’s friends beat his high score on his favorite FX2 table, Secrets of the Deep. By about ten million points. And this simply could not stand. Tooling around with sackfolk is one thing. Having your pinball table score messed with by an actual human being? That’s personal.
Speaking of personal…
After the jump, that’s something else Continue reading →
Russia’s Greatest Three & The EVIL Kleptomania Puppet. No really, that’s what it’s called. You see, you start by flying around in your little pod vehicle and this evil giant puppet attacks you. Then you meet Vladlena Popov, who is known for her crafts and baking, and she offers to take you to Konstantin Ivanov to get your pod fixed. But first, sadly, the EVIL Kleptomania Puppet destroys (or steals, I was never quite clear on this) both her Kremlin Cake and her Alexander Nevsky Cathedral Cake. The puppet then attacks noted artist Afanasy Solovyok’s fanart and brings his characters to life in order to create havoc, as evil puppets are wont to do.
My favorite thing about spending what seemed like hours going through all of this: the level ends with a “To Be Continued” card. I do love myself an epic, and while the color scheme is garish and the design is way too busy, this level charmed me. Sometimes over-the-top is just right.
Speaking of over the top…
After the jump, and such large portions Continue reading →
