Greatness is exiting

Sony will be shutting down the servers for ModNation Racers and LittleBigPlanet Karting on the PS3 this July. The former game will run its final lap on July 10 while the latter will hit pole position on July 2. Not only that, but Gravity Rush 2 is still scheduled for a shuttering of its online services on July 19 and the cross-buy enabled CounterSpy will be going silent on June 1.

I wonder if this will also be affecting the Vita entry Road Trip. I know the website specifically states PS3, but then the list of decommissioned games has Gran Turismo 6 and Killzone 3 listed as PS4 titles. Either way, this is your warning to ?get some final ra??ces in.

Decommissioned servers [PlayStation.com]

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More hot deals than can shake a PS Move controller at

Sony came out of their E3 press conference smelling like roses. Capitalizing on the miscues of their competitors??, the platform-holder seems poised for a resurgence this winter with the PlayStation 4. In the meantime, Jack Tretton and company are showcasing their Midas touch with one of the most impressive PlayStation Store upda??tes in recent memory.

As previously reported,  Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception,XCOM: Enemy Unknown, LittleBigPlanet Karting, and Machinarium are joining the Instant Game Collectio?n this week. Starting today all four titles will be free for PlayStation Plus Members. But that's not all, Sony is also kicking o??ff a massive sale in celebration of E3 and there are some crazy good deals to be had.

Highlights include: Tomb Raider for roughly $20, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and Far Cry 3 for $30, and indie-darlings Sound Shapes and The Unfinished Swan for less than a fiver. Ha?s anyone mentioned that Sony is ??killing it?

PlayStation Plus: E3 2013 Sale, Free Machinarium, Un??c?harted 3, XCOM, More [PlayStation Blog]

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LittleBigPlanet Shafting

[Update: It appea?rs the servers were running all day during launch, and some issue with my PS3 actually prevented me from accessing the online mode. Once I'd just gone ahead and reset my connection on the system, it got in. So that is good!]

LittleBigPlanet Karting is out today, and here's a video to prove it. Yes, Sony is releasing this on the same day as Halo 4. Yes, it's had an ??incredibly lackluster marketing push. Yes, there are indeed maybe one or two reviews up. 

Most of our review is ready to go, but we can't finish it yet because, true to Sony form, the game's? online servers aren't running. They were meant to be up on Monday, but here we are, with the game available in stores, and unable to be taken online. Smooth move. 

The review will be up once the game can be tried onl??ine -- unless something more important arrives in this packed November month and ?shunts this to the bottom of the priority list. We haven't got all day, Sony. Sorry!

The post LittleBigPlanet Karting launch trailer (yes, it’s out!) appeared first on Destructoid.

Not quite up to speed

When LittleBigPlanet Karting was announced, the first thing I felt was pity. Pity for ModNation Racers, the build-everything karting title that Sony presented under the same "Play Create Share" banner as Media Molecule's critically acclaimed series. An LBP kart racer renders ModNation obsolete. 

That said, LBP itself may be deserving of some sympathy, considering it's launched on the same day as Halo 4 and hasn't had a shred of marketing weight put behind it. If you're releasing alongside one of 2012's biggest games, you could at least have had more than a day-of-launch trai?ler. As it is, many folks have ?been surprised the game is even out already.

If Sony was looking for a one-two punch that knocked both of its kart??ing properties out of the race, it's done a bang-up job. 

Still, neither of them are really worth missing. Easy come, easy go. 

LittleBigPlanet Karting (PlayStation 3)
Developer: United Front Games, Media Molecule
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release: November 6, 2012
MSRP: $59.99

LittleBigPlanet Karting does for the kart racing genre what LittleBigPlanet did for the platforming genre, and by that I mean it does what ModNation Racers was already doing for the kart racing genre. I promise I won't keep going on about that, but it truly boggles the mind how completely useless Sony has made either one of these two titles. It doesn't help that LBP Karting is, more or less, exactly like the aforementioned "rival" ?title (likely?? due to United Front working on both games). ;

The general idea is that, like with LittleBigPlanet, players can create their own levels to share and play online. Using all manner of terrain deformation tools, pre-set objects, and customizable materials, players can craft some truly impressive tracks using the exact kind of user-friendly interface seen in mainstay LittleBigPlanet titles. This time around, instead of creating 2D platform levels, players lay? out tracks built from all kinds of material by "driving" a paint roller across the ground. The roller can be raised or lowered to create tracks of varying heights, and branching routes can be added for shortcuts and hidden paths. 

Most of the tools found in LittleBigPlanet transfer over quite well to the karting spin-off. Almost anything can be tweaked, from the color of the sky to the behavior of CPU-controlled racers. Speech bubbles, animated obstacles, dangerous terrain, and prizes can all be added, to the point where the only real appreciable difference between LBP and Karting is the 3D perspective. This leads for an incredibly intuitive crafting experience that, once players get to grips with the way track-building works, will have them bolting ??together all manner of quirky race levels in no time at all.

Unlike ModNation, there is not a huge amount of scope when it comes to making karts and racers themselves. Your Sackboy is still a pre-made doll upon which to hang costume pieces, while the karts lack the minute level of customizable details found in Sony's earlier karting property, and fail to appear quite so personalized due to LBP's "improvised" aesthetic. Nevertheless, the designs are still rather ch?arming, and unlocking new body part?s for the vehicles remains a compelling little incentive. 

The building aspect of LittleBigPlanet is as entertaining as usual, but the racing itself doesn't match such levels of satisfaction. It holds its own as a fairly decent karting experience, but it chooses to stop at merely being decent, refusing to do anything new or exciting on its own and instead relying on the customization aspect as a sole draw. In a way, this is a problem shared by the regular LittleBigPlanet games -- just as LittleBigPlanet is an exceptional way of crafting unremarkable platformers, so too is Karting an exceptional w?ay of crafting unremarkable racers. 

All the obligatory features are in place -- karts can drift for speed boosts, perform spinning tricks in mid-air, and collect weapons to blast the competition. As with ModNation Racers, Karting goes overboard with the luck-based power-ups, using projectiles that are completely unavoidable unless you waste your own weapon to diffuse incoming atta?cks, and a multitude of powers that can shunt you from first to last place without skill ever being a factor. This makes it useful as a casual party game, but renders the solo story chapters more a?ggravating than amusing. 

As well as straightforward races, there are Mario Kart-style battle arenas where players have to kill each other as much as possible, solo checkpoint races, and capture-and-hold objectives where players need to hold onto a specific item f?or as long as possible. The story mode also provides a smattering of mini-games and even boss fights, where mines or guns are used to take out weak points on huge, monstrous creations. 

One thing I appreciate is how traditional elements from the series have been incorporated stylistically into the gameplay. For instance, weapon power-ups are appropriated Weaponators, and when you die, a familiar spawn point opens up on the track to get your racer back into play. The grappling hook is used to swing across wide chasms, prize bubbles can be collected to unlock new items, and many weapons are taken directly from the various obstacles found across the LBP series. Karting succeeds impressively at creating a title that feels right at home in the LittleBigPlanet universe. 

Nevertheless, there's no escaping the fact that, like so many kart racers released over the last few years, LittleBigPlanet Karting is unadventurous, traditional to a fault, and too damn slow. Yet again, it's shameful to note that a budget title, Jimmie Johnson's Anything with an Engine, has still done more to energize the genre than any of the more prominent titles. Make no mistake, Johnson was sorely lacking in the quality department, but at least it tried. LBP Karting is yet another racer that simply hasn't p??ut any effort into making kart racers exciting again. It's solid, it's functional, but it's not exhilarating in any way. 

The lack of thrill is compounded by the fact that LBP'?s famously floaty physics are preserved unapologetically and used throughout the racing experience. Cars feel unwieldy and lacking in traction, and jumping? is an oddly slow affair. It's not enough to be a massive problem, but the physics are just loose enough to give the whole game a strange, waxy feeling.

Online play makes things a bit more interesting, though o??nly marginally so. The multiplayer aspect runs smoothly, and a cool voting system offers up three stages pulled up at random for players to choose. The randomized aspect makes the next race a consistent surprise, but it can offer up poorly designed courses just as often as good ones, and can even change the controls without warning ??the players. 

Still, the game is already filling up with user-created courses, running the gamut between insipid and inventive. Time will tell if there are enough players to keep the game ticking, but right now there seems to be a healthy batch of offerings to choose from, and folks are quickly finding ways to put a unique spin on things. One user has managed to craft a water course, complete with boats. The water physics don't react to the boats, making the whole level look odd, but it's a promising start. For those that do manage to find the gameplay as?pect compelling, there's a solid amount of content to check out. ;

LittleBigPlanet Karting may be ?worth checking out for fans of the series, but experienced kart lovers can happily skip it. While the creation mode is a potentially engrossing concept, it's not real?ly anything that hasn't already been done, and the racing itself is almost antediluvian in nature.

It's not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, and can even manage to be quite fun in the right environment, but it's altogether a fairly meaningless release that seems to exist just to ensure Sony has something out in time for the holiday season that isn't All-Stars. 

I felt sorry for ModNation Racers when LBP Karting was released, but now I ju?st kind of feel bad for? both of them. 

The post Review: LittleBigPlanet Karting appeared first on Destructoid.

The unique union of user creation and kart racing comes together officially on November, the newly revealed launch date for LittleBigPlanet Karting (in North America). Get ready to create your own Sackboy and his kart and race it aroun?d the crazy 2D-turned-3D world.

Admittedly, I'm more excited about the creation side of the game than anything else. I was on board as soon I saw?? "breakfast boy," a Sackboy that has hash browns for a body, bacon for a mustache and beard, and an egg shell as a hat.

LBP fans will want to check out the new "Summer Sports Trailer," ?which is a total Olympics spoof. In a game where you're the creator, things like slap judo and cake hurdles are a real thing.

The post LittleBigPlanet Karting officially date?d: November 6 appeared first on Destructoid.

It feels like forever ago that LittleBigPlanet Karting was announced, and finally, as of today, we are edging ever closer to release. Sony has now opened beta signups for everyone who is interested. This isn't the first time Sony has opened it's doors on a LBP based project, so don't be shy when signing up!

Although I think this is what ModNation Racers should have been in the first place, I'm pulling for this game. My wife and I had a blast with LittleBigPlanet 1 and 2, and given how?? amazing the sec?ond game's creation toolset was, I hope Karting can follow suit.

The game itself is a joint venture between Media Molecule (creators of the LBP series) and United Front Games (ModNation Racers).

LittleBigPlanet Karting Beta Coming Soon [Playstation Blog]

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LittleBigPlanet Karting came power sliding in at a Sony press event last week. William Ho, design director at United Front Games, said that the development team put their experience in racing games (they also made ModNation Racers) together with their love of Sackboy to make a kart racer that would fit nicely in the LittleBigPlanet universe. And it does. With Karting, LBP's world is in 3D for th??e first time, and with it comes the open customization?? and user creation tools that made the previous games so popular. 

LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3)
Developer: Sony
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Releases: 2012 

At its core, LittleBigPlanet Karting is exactly what you'd expect from the name. Exactly. And that's likely a good thing. It's super-approachable kart racing action (Mario Kart fans would be right at home) with the design and user-created content you'd expect from this franchise. This means that you'll be busting off attacks on fellow racers from pick-up ??weapons while hugging corners in a struggle to stay at the front of the pack. It's fast and really easy to get into.

But Karting goes beyond simple racing with several different game modes. Much like the LBP games, there are worlds to explore, and this?? opens up greatly with user-created courses. Beyond this, we were told to expect battle modes, waypoint races, treasure hunts, score attacks and more. 

Customization in LBP Karting works just as it does in the previous series games, so much so that ?the Popit interface is exactly the same. Through this your Sackboy racer can be anything you imagine, as always, but now your vehicle can be customized just as easily. I saw karts made out of straws and tape, potted plants, and even cupcakes. I played a few rounds as "breakfast boy," which had hash browns for a body, bacon for a mustache and beard, and an egg shell as a hat. He drove a rusted tin can with tank wheels as a kart. He managed to be both gross and cute.

I tried the standard kart racing in a stage that was inspired by a garden from the first LittleBigPlanet game, and from the looks of it the flat worlds of the series seem to make the transition to full 3D nicely. The kart racing felt decent, though maybe a bit simple. Some vehicles felt a bit lacking in weight and grip, with Sackboy and his ride seeming to move a bit farther off the track than expected. It may just be the Mario Kart fan in me, but I found myself sighing when I lost control of my kart. On the upside, a good drifting mechanic was put into Karting, with long slides building up? tire fire to? put karts into a boost coming out of a turn. Through this, after getting the hang of it, I was easily able to make my way to the front of the pack without needing to use any powerups.

On my second run through of the same stage I used Karting's "weaponators," which let me pick up weapons to make the race a bit easier. There's the standard seeking shot, but the rest temporarily transform your kart into something a bit more power?ful. One transforms? your kart into a rocket, letting you blast past the competition. My favorite turned the kart into a huge flying boxing glove, letting me punch other racers out of the way.

LittleBigPlanet Karting's deathmatch battle mode can be played locally or online with up to 8 players. I tried my hand at the circular King's Castle course, whic ended up being a weapon-packed free-for-all. It was? so fast that I was barely able to keep track of what I was firing, but I managed to do rather well by randomly lobbing grenades and blasting other racers with ar??ea-effecting EMP shots. My second time around I found that I could turn my cart to skid into a near-continuous power slide, snapping up weapons and blasting off quick shots along the way. I can already tell you that this mode is going to be a big hit. 

Another standard racing stage called Future Perfect showed off one of Karting's neatest additions to the genre, grappling hooks. It sounds crazy at first, but the grappling worked nicely on this course, with too-long jumps being closed by the well-timed shot of a hook (L1 button) to a sponge, letting the driver pull and fling his way to the desired landing point. Smart hooking and releasing can help unc??over alternate paths, and directional control after a hooked jump will let you perform tricks.

While the grappling mechanic is a welcome addition to kart play, the level it was featured in was a bit of?? a mess. Proper landings felt like luck with all of the confusing, overlapping pathways, and in the same vein, races seemed like a free-for-all, with no optimum pathway to take. Some frustrating, unbalanced course design forced too many racers down some pathways, causing catching on some sidewalls. 

With United Front Games at the helm, it's safe to assume that some form of the ModNation Racers engine is under the hood for LittleBigPlanet Karting. That's not a bad thing, mind you. This game seems like the obvious progression, unifying the solid racing action of ModNation and LittleBigPlanet's brand of user-created content. Given their track record, and considering the ties to the LBP franchise, we can be sure it's going to be fun to create in Karting. Le?t's hope that ??they can shape up the actual gameplay to match.

The post Hands-on preview: LittleBigPlanet Karting appeared first on Destructoid.

Media Molecule is teaming up with United Front Games (ModNation Racers) on LittleBigPlanet Karting, as detailed by the PlayStation Blog today. The game, due out later this year for PlayStation 3, l??ooks like a natural extension of the concept??s behind the studios' prior work.

United Front Games senior producer James Grieve says to expect "a new toolbox specifically tailored to allow for building in LBP Karting's ?3?D world," racing and battle modes, and modifiable rule sets.

Responding to a user comment on the post about lengthy load times in ModNation Racers, Grieve says h?e believes fans will be "pleasantly surprised." Not a bad ??start!

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