Little Big Planet

[Flour]

Researching a game yourself > reviews or promotional videos.
Buying a game based on reviews is dumber than buying a random game.

This is my point though. You can't just look at a box and think, "Wow, this look great!" then buy it. Well, I guess you could, but you're not doing "research" by just looking at what the company wants you to see. We could look at screenshots and gameplay videos all day long - but that is not going to give us an idea of how much fun it is to play that game or how many bugs it has.

If you're not looking at any reviews, then what the hell are you basing your purchase on?

For me it are user submitted gameplay videos, patch information and I usually download the game to play for one hour to see how the game runs on my computer.
Often I no longer want a game after downloading and playing it, not because I already have it but because it is not worth my money. All I want from a game are adjustable graphics, decent controls and at least 7-8 hours of gameplay the first time.

Spoiler: Where games fail

Most games fail at the gameplay requirement, which is important for me because I allow myself 2 hours of gaming each day, 3 hours on Saturday.(a 7 hour game is at least 3 days game time and after two months, the 7 hour game has become a 2 to 3 hour near-perfect speedrun)
Some games fail at the graphics requirement by not allowing me to use the settings I want(which is only 4xAA or 6xAA, I don't really care about anything else but motion blur, bloom, depth of vision and dynamic shadows are automatically disabled)
A few games fail at the control requirement by not allowing me to change the controls.
There's a small percentage that automatically gets deleted, that are games with DRM or StarForce copy protection(I don't care about SecuRom since I can remove it) and games that don't save my changes or crash a lot.

 

[jackiebrown22222]

As said on the Editor's post, most of those ratings, my guess is maybe 80%+, were made by people who haven't even laid their hands on the game. Douchebags just wanted to screw around and give a bunch of low scores just for the hell of it. I don't read the user reviews at all on Metacritic, the critics score is the only thing that matters to me.

 

[hypothetical fact]

Since everyone is fawning over the game, I will attack it. The reviewers may have voted poorly because the game doesn't have the user submitted database of levels yet. From my own research the only reason to buy this is because of the potential in the database so without it of course the game will drop to a 6 or lower.

 

[Novajam]

LittleBigPlanet only got 6.1/10 in user scores? I'd say it's just fanboys on both ends of the scale.

User reviews on sites like IGN have always fascinated me. There's never any middle ground. They always end up in a shower of praise, vicious gay bashing and using every word in a sailors dictionary to prove their point. Look:

THIS *S word* IS GAA-*I fell asleep on the "A" key*-AAY!

The characters are sacks, two sacks touching equals GAY.
DO NOT BUY THIS GAY CRAP!

Score: 0/10

this is the *S word* *N word* the ps3 is *F word*ing *B word*ing its *F word*ing OF DA CHAIN screw that *Misspelled D word*heads Mario and Halo cuz da ps3 gotz LBP, Uncharted, Resistance 2, Ratchet and Clank and aaaaaaall those *B word*ing games are da *S word* and this game is the motha *Misspelled F word*ing *S word* *N word* get this ull love it and if u r a dumbass who doesnt hav a ps3 then all i can say 2 u is HAHAHAHA *B word* WHOS LAUGHING NOW?!?!?

Score: 10/10

It's like, they're trying to speak to us...
Edited because of naughty swears.

 

[SmugFrog]

I'm not really too fond of Gamespot anymore after their whole Kane & Lynch fiasco. Before, I would go to them just about every time.

Someone on this forum suggested Metacritic, and I like the way they bundle the "official" reviews there. It's so amazing how many of you hate "reviews" of a game. I would love to give you a stack of games reviewed with a less than 30% score and find one you like for a weeks time.

The reviews I choose aren't in the manner that Novajam presented (which, there's a plethora of ignorance on the net if you want to trust it), but rather something that takes a game and looks over it as a whole. Is the game fun? That's a simple question! Maybe it gets frustrating at parts. Perhaps it is bugged at times, the levels take a long time to load, etc. Those are the kinds of things I want to know about. Some of you are acting like the writer is trying to hide hidden messages as if he's like "OH man, I gotta review a Nintendo game? I hate Nintendo! I know, I'll give it a crap score!" Or the opposite for the review fan boy.

Do those types exist? Of course they do! Gamespot proved that. If you look at the reviews as a whole, not every writer is out there to steal your children and eat your dog.

 

[Angron]

i wouldnt say its fanboys, altho i would say its to do with people not enjoying a fun game, one without guns and death...

i have a 360 (not a fanboy tho) and not a PS3 and i would kill to play LBP, it looks awesome, i would rate it about a 9, but thats probable because im not a retarded fanboy...

 

[fedpayne]

Heh, sacks.

Anyway, I kinda want Little Big Planet, looks kind of cool, but even if it was on the other consoles, I'm not sure I'd get it. To be honest, I think I'd get bored of a 2D platformer, even if you could rebuild pretty much everything - there's only so much variety you can put in a 2D platformer, eventaully it's just reskinning. Obviously I could be wrong and it could be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but Mirror's Edge is hopefully going to sate my platforming needs, and Far Cry my map making needs (whilst additionally saying my shooting needs and dystopian future needs. Also, people are saying wait till you play the game. Yeah, that goes for saying it's good, too.

And to balance out any accusations of fanboyism - Halo sux.

 

[fedpayne]

Alright first of all let's all agree on stop using that slice bread analogy,
it's getting annoying, second this is the second time i hear someone say that the map making in FarCry 2 is either better or satisfies them fully.
How can you even compare that to LBP? Seriously it's like comparing a squirt gun to a fireman's hose (SWAG THAT DIRTY DIRTY MIND!), in farCry2 you're still limited to the game, the fact that you can only create a map. In LBP you create a totally different game from the original thingie.

Oh and you're forgetting the big point of this game..which is fun with friends. Playing with 4 other idiots on something you created is simple mind rape fun.

Oh snap! I just saw a gameplay video of some guy CREATING music on LBP, did anyone know about this!?

OK, sorry for the sliced bread thing. Does LBP have online multiplayer? How about playing with 15 other idiots on someting you created?

What is this about an uber editor, create a whole new game? Have I missed something. Me go do research...

OK, that looks really impressive. But still. I think there is a limited appeal to side scrolling game. Like I said, I probably wouldn't get it.

 

[Imitation Saccharin]

Little Big Planet is not going to be a game that reaches it's full potential immediately. Since it is based heavily on user content it will take time to get that user content to a maximum point that the game is super ultra fun. Granted most of the content will be crap too. But the gems that shine from beneath the crap will be great. Kind of like how the normal games market is.

YA! Totally radical bowdasious guy dude! Hip killer wikki!

Or wait, that's the exact same bullshit they said about Spore.

 

[fedpayne]

Yeah, its got online - you will be able to edit levels together online. However, its just 4 players. What? If you really want epic scale of multiplayer, play Resistance 2 (60 players), and start saving for MAG (256).

What he's refferring to is that you can play something completely different. You can make a racing game, a sports game, a classic story-driven adventure game, Teris, Space Invaders, Pong, and according to Jumplion, Metal Gear. That's in addition to recreating Mario and Sonic levels, or even making your own.

Really? What the... is there a thread that discusses how exactly?

 

[Novajam]

Little Big Planet is not going to be a game that reaches it's full potential immediately. Since it is based heavily on user content it will take time to get that user content to a maximum point that the game is super ultra fun. Granted most of the content will be crap too. But the gems that shine from beneath the crap will be great. Kind of like how the normal games market is.

But considering the Beta, doesn't that mean there is a fair amount of content already out there? Sony actually said they're not getting rid of it.

There was something like twenty thousand levels made during the beta right? Most of those will just be mess around levels (people playing the game like they would a demo, no real "plan" to their madness), so that cuts it down a fair bit. Then there are some levels that aren't really meant to be played so much as just something cool (the calculator level, the level where sackboy pulled a block to make music), so after all that, maybe a thousand or so decent levels?

Within a few weeks there'll probably thousands of good levels, considering how creative people get with this sort of thing, so I'd say that LittleBigPlanet will take off pretty quickly and sustain momentum for a while.

 

[Fraught]

Oh god, here we go again with things I saw years ago, still didn't want to waste the internet to make.

Look at ALL the games that are coming out, all of them, have atleast 1 vote by a douchebag. Apparently LittleBigPlanet is just the target of a record amount of douchebags.

I mean, look at Call of Duty: World at War. 4.6, while obviously that game isn't of the same calibur of LittleBigPlanet, come on!

Nothing extraordinary here.

 

[Squeaksx]

User reviews are always left to the derogative nature of human nature and as such can never be trusted. Unless of the course the location has a filtering process to organize the good, honest reviews from the fanboy/flaming scum. This place is pretty uptight on their policies (*in a good way*) and as such the fanboy flame never lets off more then a spark.

This is actually the reason I look into this forum alone more often then others.

(This place = Escapist Magazine, not Metacritic)

Most of my reviews come from close friends, they tend to decide whether or not I check into games. That is all I can really suggest to people, is ask friends who share the same type of gaming tastes you do.

 

[fedpayne]

Sorry to say I really don't get this. I guess it's just me missing out though.

You can make a racing game, a sports game, a classic story-driven adventure game, Teris, Space Invaders, Pong, and according to Jumplion, Metal Gear. That's in addition to recreating Mario and Sonic levels, or even making your own.

I really fail to see how it becomes something different to a 2d sidescrolling platformer. Unless it becomes a classic story-driven adventure game in the same way my bed becomes a fort...

 

[Jumplion]

Sorry to say I really don't get this. I guess it's just me missing out though.

You can make a racing game, a sports game, a classic story-driven adventure game, Teris, Space Invaders, Pong, and according to Jumplion, Metal Gear. That's in addition to recreating Mario and Sonic levels, or even making your own.

I really fail to see how it becomes something different to a 2d sidescrolling platformer. Unless it becomes a classic story-driven adventure game in the same way my bed becomes a fort...

He just explained it in the post you quoted, what do you want?

 

[Trogd0r]

Well, I only played the beta, and would give it like a 7, MAX.

But to blame it on Xbox fanboys is kinda sad, it's not like they have nothing to play these months ;D

 

[fedpayne]

Sorry to say I really don't get this. I guess it's just me missing out though.

You can make a racing game, a sports game, a classic story-driven adventure game, Teris, Space Invaders, Pong, and according to Jumplion, Metal Gear. That's in addition to recreating Mario and Sonic levels, or even making your own.

I really fail to see how it becomes something different to a 2d sidescrolling platformer. Unless it becomes a classic story-driven adventure game in the same way my bed becomes a fort...

He just explained it in the post you quoted, what do you want?

With all due respect, how exactly is 'you can create a classic story-driven adventure game' explaining it. Explaining it would add 'by...' and then, an explanation how. It's like saying, by using Forge, you can create a puzzle game in Halo.

Maybe I should back off. I don't want to upset anyone. I don't want no trouble mister.

 

[Alphavillain]

I've played the Beta, and a lot will rest on how much perseverance people have for level creation: it is very time-consuming and can wig out and wreck your creations at almost any momet, from my experience. people prepared to spend time on the level creation will love it.

 

[Cinder Block of Oppression]

I can't see what's not to love. A platforming G-Mod. Epic.

 

[Jumplion]

Sorry to say I really don't get this. I guess it's just me missing out though.

You can make a racing game, a sports game, a classic story-driven adventure game, Teris, Space Invaders, Pong, and according to Jumplion, Metal Gear. That's in addition to recreating Mario and Sonic levels, or even making your own.

I really fail to see how it becomes something different to a 2d sidescrolling platformer. Unless it becomes a classic story-driven adventure game in the same way my bed becomes a fort...

He just explained it in the post you quoted, what do you want?

With all due respect, how exactly is 'you can create a classic story-driven adventure game' explaining it. Explaining it would add 'by...' and then, an explanation how. It's like saying, by using Forge, you can create a puzzle game in Halo.

Maybe I should back off. I don't want to upset anyone. I don't want no trouble mister.

Didn't mean to sound like a douche (probably did ;O), but if you've ever seen some of those crazy User Made levels you would know that it's easily possible. I can't "explain" how to make it because A) I havn't played it yet, B)It would be to long to explain to you (IE, select text tool, ect..) and C)It should be plainly obvious that you can do those things in LBP with so many crazy User-Made levels.

And I guess you can make a "puzzle level" in forge, but you can make an even more elaborate Puzzle level in LBP. You can't compare LBP to forge, they're two different things. All forge can do is place items on the map, not deform terrain or create different objects and such. LBP is like Garry's Mod, only much easier and accesible to use.

And it was more in response to;

"I really fail to see how it becomes something different to a 2d sidescrolling platformer."

Because even if it is a 2D platformer, it's still an "adventure" game or whatever. You cannot seriously believe that LBP would be better in 3D, as it would be so horribly complicated and broken.

Well, I only played the beta, and would give it like a 7, MAX.

But to blame it on Xbox fanboys is kinda sad, it's not like they have nothing to play these months ;D

I would like to know why you'd give the Beta a 7. I'm being seriuos here, I'm just curious is all.