| GooseGaws said: The problem I have with this game is not with the creation, multiplayer or community aspects, but with the basic gameplay itself. The floaty controls and lack of variety in character abilities really reduced the appeal to me. It's very rare that I trade in a game, but this was one of those instances. |
I actually worried that the game would simply lack gameplay variety as I played through the main game as well, but I have to say, if you played lunar lander and other vehicle levels which totally change the gameplay, the multiplayer arena games people have made, the shoot 'em up levels, the stealth-platoformer levels, the extremely varied survival challenges, and the insane puzzle games people have made, you'd find it harder to say that. Most of these genres within LBP make up some of the highest rated levels in the game, so they aren't very easy to miss. Of course, a lot of them have only been made or introduced into the game in the past 3 months, so that might be the reason my perception is so different -- I only got the game in December.
The floaty controls are definitely a taste thing though, and are bound to turn some people off, just as faster paced, higher gravity gameplay when combined with the same physics would probably alienate a lot of less experienced platform gamers. Maybe they'll add in a gravity slider in level creation. The updates they're doing this month are the biggest since they released the MGS pack, so it seems like they're pretty serious about keeping things fresh. I can say that the controls can be mastered, though, and they're actually not as hard as many more challenging platformers once you start to watch out for the momentum and direction affecting you before you jump, which is a bigger deal in LBP than most games. If the controls couldn't be mastered, there wouldn't be so many people who have aced every level in the main game.
The three levels of depth are definitely the game's biggest flaw to me. It's not a perfect game, but in the end I do think the gameplay quite strong, and it's more about exploring, puzzles, and unique multiplayer than it is about hardcore mario-style platforming. In a way, this makes a lot of sense for a game with such an emphasis on player creation -- it's a lot easier to come up with mind blowing puzzles or crazy looking worlds than it is to create a platforming level as well balanced as something out of the original SMB, after all. Expecting players to design levels with that degree of precision probably would have led to failure.
