If you subscribe to the idea that videogames are often sorely lacking imagination, LittleBigPlanet 2 should already be near the top of your shopping list. A sequel to Sony's exquisite platformer of 2008, it's a game that has an immediately familiar feel to those who played the original (aided by the fact that it searches your PS3 for saved material from the original), and is nothing short of a cauldron of ideas.

Fortunately, even if you're new to it, there's no massive learning curve here. Once more, Stephen Fry has been deployed to talk you through the guts of the game, and to introduce you to the eminently customisable Sackboy. It is he who you have to navigate through an assortment of platforming levels, and it is he who collects the game's goodies - stickers, clothes, extras, you name it - through which you can start to customise things.

If it ain't broke...
The first thing to is that LittleBigPlanet 2 is no radical overhaul. Sackboy still walks back and forth across the screen, and the game still treads a nice line between 2D and 3D platfomers, with some degree of perspective called into play. There are, however, a few added tools at Sackboy's disposal, including the likes of a grappling hook, for instance, and these do vary the game's puzzles a little.

The game's story mode is a real treat, too, providing you with an abundance of wonderfully designed levels (with historical themes) to sink your teeth into. The devil really is in the detail here, as the challenges here drip with care and attention, while offering genuine variety. Plus, as you make your way through the game, its puzzling element really kicks in. While earlier parts of the game may seem a little testing, they really do pale next to some of the work that's to come.

Yet it's a tolerant game. Rarely are you thrown back far when something goes wrong. Only when really necessary does the game give you finite attempts at getting past something - and there's usually more than enough incentive to keep going, anyway. It's a fair criticism that there's a more of the same' feel to the guts of the game, but it's immense fun, and really very challenging.

Customisation and creativity
The place where big improvements have been made in LittleBigPlanet 2, however, is in the game's editor mode. Bluntly, we've rarely seen anything quite like it. The level of customisation and creativity you're afforded here is quite brilliant - and there are surprisingly few barriers to what you can come up with.

The editor included in the original game was strong, and led to a thriving community with a mass of extra content to be downloaded (over 2 millions levels, we're told - not that we've counted them all). We're salivating just thinking about what the world's gameplayers will come up with for LittleBigPlanet 2.

The whole editor function is accessible, too, which is perhaps the real achievement. There are many tutorials you can work your way through to get a full grasp of the tools the game offers, but the truth is you don't need to: it's much easier to pick up a few tips and then start getting your hands dirty. More satisfying, too.

Gaming bargain of the year
The package Sony has put on sale could well turn out to be the best value game we'll see in the next 12 months. If you enjoy the basic platforming prowess of LittleBigPlanet 2, the good news is that everything provided is just a trailer for the main attraction: the abundance of levels that will continue to flood through online from this point onwards. Even if you don't go online to try them, you're getting an excellent game. But you'll be getting a whole lot more if you do. This might just be the gaming bargain of the year.

Verdict
A strong sequel, made pretty near-essential by an accessible, varied and deep editor that allows you to create and enjoy fresh content of your own. The provided story mode is fun, if no radical revolution. But that's just the starting point for something really quite special indeed. Marvellous.

Company: Sony

Tags: littlebigplanet sony video game stephen fry media molecule playstation 3 game littlebigplanet 2