LittleBigPlanet Karting Review | IGN

IGN: "LBP Karting isn't an interesting racer and doesn't live up to the expectations set by the franchises that inspired it"

[Merrill]

Ouch. I didn't enjoy the Beta very much, but I didn't expect this.

This review seems to be pretty well below the average score, typical IGN I guess; either way too high a score or too low.

[Abash]

Well it's just a score but the reviewer was way too hard on this game. I have been playing the story mode as I got my copy today and this has all the charm of the main LBPs. The racing is fun, I dont see where he got 'lack of excitement' as a reason to penalize the game because it's pretty awesome especially in the car combat levels.

[piroh]

i wish them all the luck and many hits to stay relevant

as for LBPK, i'll buy it anyway

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

I didn't like the beta so I was expecting low reviews, but a 5 out of 10? Damn, IGN is essentially saying the game is crap.

***"it's pretty awesome especially in the car combat levels."***

Agreed. The combat levels is where I had most fun during the beta.

[ShinMaster]

IGN's is the only low score so far.

[Dee_91]

How come most of the time a game gets a low score ( mainly a ps3 game ) the author always go on about an inner soul thought spiritual mind inner being-esque type of reasoning as to why the game is bad.Never a real solid reason.....Hell you could say you just didnt like it and id be more okay with that than " without ever finding its own voice."type of crap
You go on to make all the little changes from the original 2 LBP some how seem bad yet criticize it for being the same ..
Its little big planet kart racing nothing more...
I dont expect it to get 10's or 9's but a 5 .. Im not even surprised IGNornant

[knifefight]

I love how, when some website posts a low review score of a highly hyped game, forumers come in with the defense of "Yeah well IGN gave it a _____" like it negates the other review, and then when both websites agree, people say "Yeah and I saw IGN gave it a _____" as if that validates the other review somehow. Now there's a low score in which IGN is the minority and people are like "Yeah well IGN sucks anyway."

Here's the thing about reviews...they're all written by humans. Keep that in mind when reading, no matter where it's posted ^_^

[Sono421]

I agree I didn't enjoy the beta too much either.. :/ One thing that I noticed no one really touched on yet was that the driving was SO slow...

[killerhog]

Yeah they gave halo which is still lacking inspiring environments (still bland), innovation (still the same-o same-o) a 9 I believe, but this (lbp karting) lacks "excitement" lol. Everything in halo 4 is predictable and the same. I know different reviewers, I'm using it as a point that reviewers are lacking professionalism and standards.

[Army_of_Darkness]

And the graphics look very outdated and disappointing as well...

[Merrill]

But a 5? I mean that's a borderline unplayable game at that score; according to IGN.

[GribbleGrunger]

How can cloth, wood or metal look outdated? You DO understand the nature of LBP games, don't you?

[ZombieNinjaPanda]

@Merrill

if 5 is unplayable to you, what do you consider a 2 or a 1? Does that suck the life force out of you and kill you? A 5 is a game that is average, it does nothing very well, but its not a terrible game. There are more numbers on the review score table.

[Phoenix_GenmaKen]

better looking than most xbox 360 games anw so hate more

[MattyG]

@Merrill No, according to IGN's scale a 5 is mediocre. I don't know when a 5 became unplayable. Now a 2.5, THAT's borderline unplayable.

[Army_of_Darkness]

What if I said that the wood, metal and cardboard graphics and textures of LBP2 looks much better than this crap? Would you still disagree?

[Reverent]

@ZombieNinjaPanda, meant to give you a disagree (Accidentally gave you an agree). While yeah, TECHNICALLY a 5/10 means average, the way EVERY scoring system works, dramatically screws things up when they're that low when it comes to an averaging percentage. So if you have a game that gets a 10/10, two 9/10's, and then a 5/10, the first three scores are going to set the average, but that 5/10 is going to dramatically lower the final percentage. So when you take all that into account, yes, a 5/10 is a very low score.

It literally does not matter if the reviewer even states that a 5/10 is meant to indicate an average game, when that score is calculated in a percentage, for example, the way Metacritic works, then that reviewers score is going to lower the final score to a pretty decent extent.

I really hope I don't need to explain that a third time.

[-Alpha]

Well they seem to hark on the new mechanics not being as fun as the MNR mechanics.

As much as I really like seeing Sackboy in a different genre like kart racing, I think I'd have preferred an MNR 2. It had a really unique thing going with its hub, creation, and style that the LBP tone lost. Still, a 5 seems extreme, and the review was expectedly brief for me. Seems to be getting 7-8 everywhere else

[Wigriff]

I liked everything about MNR except for the loading times.

[despair]

I agree MNR 2 would've made a lot more sense, more polish, fixing the issues with the original and enhancing the current karting and creating systems would've made it a potentially amazing game. But this one seems more just trying to capitalize on the LBP name.

[Jobesy]

Typical IGN? They just have Halo a 9.8. How is 9.8 below average? Oh wait...you meant that they hate Sony right? Smh, get your fanboy the hell outta here. So now unless a game scores 9 even they get called out. Some of you are sad cases.

[KentBlake]

It's not that they hate Sony. They gave Uncharted 3 a perfect 10.

What seems to be happening lately with IGN is that they only seem to like some specific titles from specific publishers. Every single CoD and GTA are perfect games in their book.

And lately they seem really jaded, and complain about everything in games from publishers that don't, well, PAY them. I used to think all this "paying reviewers" was only conspiracy theory, but in the last few months the IGN reviews look really suspicious.

[GribbleGrunger]

Mentblake, if you check out Metacritic you will see something very interesting. Look at the scores they've given to all the recent so called 'console sellers' on Vita and PS3 and it makes for an interesting discussion.

He also says that you can't fully customise your racer which is wrong. You can make any vehicle you want and adjust it to your liking.

[StreetsofRage]

Gribble, you used to be a typical troll but did a huge reversal. Now you sound like a real gamer. So please don't go back to the conspiracy theories or the excuses. Its just an opinion. And you should know by now that metacritic doesn't carry any weight.

Only thing you should read in reviews is too see if the game is buggy or glitchy.

[kane_1371]

you are just acting silly!
Go to Meta critic.
This game has 15 reviews so far, 1 is 5 by ign.
3 is 7 and 7.5 Points and amongst them is gamespot.
The rest are all 9s and 8s.
Something is stinking here.
all those people liked it, but this guy, he just didn't!

[Old McGroin]

Funny role reversal in the space of a few hours.
First Halo 4 receives mainly good reviews; it receives a couple of low scores that have strayed from the general concensus and when 360 fanboys cry foul play all the PS3 fanboys only focus on these couple of low scores and talk about how all the high scoring reviews were paid off and how the low scoring reviewers are only being honest and genuine.
Now, LBP Kart receives a good few high scores and when some sites mark it down PS3 fanboys call foul play and discuss how those reviewers are paid off or 360 fanboys, completely forgetting their argument that the low scoring reviewers are only being honest.
I'm not aiming this at anyone in particular above me by the way, just wanted to point it out somewhere!
I wouldn't be getting my knickers in a twist over a karting game anyway, Mod Nation Racers was one of the first games I got for my PS3 and, while it had it's moments, it taught me that when it comes to karting games the only ones that seem to have a bit of magic star a certain Italian plumber.

[mcstorm]

I agree I was not impressed with the Beta it just felt too slow and flat.

I am a big MNR fan I got it for the PS3 and did get it for my PSV but I felt not having MP on it let it down on the PSV so I sold it.

I was also looking forward to getting this on the PSV as I thought All Stats and this were going to be cross PS3/PSV but then I found out it was not on the PSV.

Im not quite sure how United Front Games have managed to mess up LBP Karting as it sounds like they have used the same formula as MNR but some how gone wrong with it this time round.

I think ill be getting Sega All Stars for the PSV rather than this for the PS3 this time round.

But that said this is the 1st review I have seen of the game so have to have a see what other people say.

[NeverEnding1989]

Personally, I'd give two additional points (7/10) if the price was reduced to $40, which I think better represents its true worth

[csreynolds]

Having watched/listened to the review, I'd say it's a fair score. I don't think you can just say "typical IGN". The reviewer does justify his criticisms, and being a massive fan of ModNation Racers I would say that LBP Karting is a step backwards - in many respects. Why limit car customisation options? Why is there no auto-populate in Course Creator? Why make multiplayer more difficult to access than it was in MNR? Why is there no online ranking system or progression?

This review is below the 'average' score, but that doesn't automatically mean you should discount it. I too had my concerns in the Beta, and by the looks of it United Front Games has made a kart racer its indirect predecessor supersedes.

*anticipates disagrees for not following the herd*

[PinkFunk]

I don't understand why Modnation Racers wasn't better received. I thought it was really great. Had such a blast playing it with my friends - all of us yelling and hollering at the screen. Whew man, was good fun.

I think going for LBP Karting was a silly idea. I suppose they thought they'd merge the two franchises and because of the popularity of LBP it would work better in their favor, but I think going with MNR2 (as Alpha suggested) would have been a better idea. It had everything going for it and could have been improved upon, bolstering another unique IP.

[NastyLeftHook0]

yeah i agree, just trust reviews for what they are. i mean halo 4 got 5/10 and even a 2/10, people are going to have disagreements on littlebigplanet karting, its just the way it is. im not mad, its someones opinion.

[JaredH]

The same reviewer gave Modnation Racers a 9 and Uncharted 3 a 10 so I don't see how he's a fanboy. He describes it as basically average but on IGN that usually means around a 6-7. I think the review is fair though but now they're actually using the full scale just for this review which is odd. In the beta the game just felt empty to me and I didn't really have much fun playing it. But yes I do know the beta isn't the full game either.

[GribbleGrunger]

IGN wasn't an App on LIVE back then. That's something we can't ignore in my opinion.

[Blankman85]

Gribble, was IGN an app when they gave Twisted Metal and Starhawk 9's and Witcher 2 8.5? Genuine question.
What about when they gave Journey 9 out of 10 as well? Unfinished swam too. . .when did IGN become an app on xbox live?

[GribbleGrunger]

No. It was recently. The same goes for Gamestop who gave this game 7/10. Both of these sites are currently the lowest scores on metacritic and both of these sites have recently been given an App on LIVE. It could be coincidental but it's worth noting.

[NeverEnding1989]

You remind me of N4G c. 2006-07.

"M$'s check must have cleared" re. Heavenly Sword reviews.

I thought N4G has evolved past that conspiracy theory?

[Simon_Brezhnev]

@Ndivhu

TBH 8.5 is to low a score for Witcher 2. LOL

I'll be honest when i played the beta the only thing liked was the combat fighting other than that. It did feel like MNR again.

[SilentNegotiator]

Meanwhile, similar games add "driving under water" and gliding segments and get a bunch of 8+ scores every year.

"This is a step backward. Building up the ModNation meter meant you could defend yourself from multiple attacks. Requiring me to have an item equipped and ready to use as a shield means I'm vulnerable a lot more"
"I love kart racers and understand that cheap shots are a part of the genre, but I can't remember the last kart racer I played that frustrated me as much as LittleBigPlanet Karting does. There are a number of issues here. I'd deploy items like the Boxing Glove or Fast Forward Button (both of which propel you forward on the track), and I'd be slammed into obstructions at the end of the animation that instantly killed me. When I'd respawn, I'd be invulnerable for a few seconds, and as soon as that ended, I'd be blasted with a missile from a computerized foe and have no way to defend myself as I had just used the item I had equipped -- the item that led to my death and my subsequent spiral into last place"

.....aaaaand he just described Mario Kart. Yet somehow it's some terrible game.

Greg Miller is a terrible reviewer.

[georgeenoob]

Wow what a weak year for ps3

[stage88]

Not at all, we've had quite a few great exclusives this year :)

[Eyeco]

I hate to admit it being a fan of the system but he's right this has been arguably the weakest ps3 year, with the exception of Journey everything else has been BLEH!!! and before you disagree , look back to the previous years the PS3 has had better, this year was horrible

[slapedurmomsace]

I didn't really like the Beta either, but mario kart in 2 player mode was my wife and mine favorite game to play together back in the day on the Gamecube, and since we don't have a Wii or Cube anymore, we're both hoping LBPK will fill that slot nicely. Here's to not giving a rats about IGN cause damn it, we're gonna have fun anyway.

[miDnIghtEr20C_SfF]

You could tell by the beta that the game was going to suck.

[showtimefolks]

this was a bad idea in IMO and wasn't a game that needed to be made. This was more of Modnation racers DLC than anything else

[Muffins1223]

Not surprised....this racing like feature could of easily been possible through adding it to another REAL little big planet... like little big planet 3 or something.

[THESHAUNZY]

I played the demo at SDCC.. this game is lame!

[MRMagoo123]

Arent you the one that made that awful halo4 killing cod article? begone bug

[guitarded77]

What I learned from this review -> Greg miller is easily confused.

[CaptainSheep]

What? A 5? Hm, that's interesting. I REALLY liked the beta. I think it was really fun and really enjoyed it. :/

[Adva]

AVG scores 7's and 8's. Go with the majority or?

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

5/10? what's with the troll reviews all of a sudden?
I played the beta and my only complaint was the karts needed speeding up but apparently you can alter the speeds to how you want for your own level in the final game.
Anyway I'm still getting this the game looks great.

[Kinger8938]

Who didnt see this coming?

From what i played it offered nothing that new and just felt borig unfortunatly :(

[madjedi]

"From what i played it offered nothing that new and just felt borig unfortunatly"

Do you have any idea how foolish a statement this is to make as a gamer. I could rip into a just released blockbuster title for the 360, with the same exact mindset. It offered nothing new or unexpected so it is a bad game.

This whole mindset needs only 2 words fucking duh.

[Kinger8938]

Whatever :3 cant remember saying it was a bad game..

Why mwntion the 360 im on both sides im just stating that when i first hesrd about this game i felt it wasnt needed and didnt see why they were doing it..

Then upon playing the demo thing i didnt like what i played and decided to give the game a miss when released.

Im sorry this has hit a nerve with you and hope you enjoy the game, im more looking forward to all stars which suprised me in the beta

Again sorry and have a plesant day

[live2play]

Mario kart kille-oh wait

[DigitalRaptor]

this game goes above and beyond what Nintendo have been doing with MK for a long time. they've been riding on it essentially. just cause one guy didn't find it fun doesn't mean it's not fun or even good.

5/10 is a joke anyway. a game has to be broken or just awful to get a score that low.

[josephayal]

I'm playing LBP-K now and yeah it's good, it's not revolutionary, but it's really good better than M

[aquamala]

Waiting for the 2/10 or 1/5 review

[BigStef71]

I wish Colin would have reviewed this game

[dafegamer]

so true Greg just seem to keep comparing it to modnation racers, which is very sad. I think thats why devs are afraid to create new IPs(big kudos for toyama-san for creating the amazing gravity rush) cause all new games are now compared to the other one in the same genre

[BigStef71]

I agree completely

[dodo101]

Why does the reviewer keep comparing this to modnation racers???
I know it using the same engine but still!

[csreynolds]

Probably because United Front Games made both...?

dodo101, meet Logic. Logic, this is dodo101. Make friends.

[MrDead]

Like all LBP games outside the main story the only limit this game has is your own imagination...... looks like the reviewer has very little at his disposal.

Also reading the review it sounds like old Greg just sucks at this game

[Nutsack]

It is just simple

Modnation Racer > LBPK

Game is simply better at being competitive, the reviewer wrote out perfectly on what points MNR is a better Kart Racer than LBPK.

"dodo101 + 2m ago
Why does the reviewer keep comparing this to modnation racers???
I know it using the same engine but still"

Because it is basically its sequel? It is MNR with just a LBP sauce over it and taken out the parts that made MNR a good Kart Racer...

Discuss:

http://forums.n4g.com/tm.as...

[WeAreLegion]

No. Absolutely not. This is a fantastic game. It's even better than Mod Nation Racers! It's not limited to just racing tracks. You can do any type of battle you want and any type of open arena. It's fantastic.

[Digimortal]

Complaining about Review scores isn't going to do the game justice. Go out and buy it. Ignore the scores. Ignore reviews and go with your gut instants.

[KevPC]

i found the beta to be okay...a little boring but mainly because it was only single player, had it been split-screen i could of seen myself having a blast playing against my cousins...Overall i dont think this game desrves such a low score i would of give it a 6.5-7/10 and that's just on what i played.

[YoungPlex]

Wow! Mario Kart can't be messed with. I wonder how PS Battle Royal will do next, really looking forward to that! I already reserved that one but will wait for a couple of reviews first...

[DivineAssault]

This got mediocre scores.. Its new & im sure its fun too but i wont pay $60 for a kart game.. Mario Kart may score better but its the same tired old formula since n64.. This adds new elements to kart racing that nintendo is afraid to explore.. Im sure if they ripped mario kart completely by simply having different karts n tracks w little to no customization, it wouldve scored just as well..

[doogiebear]

Yeah, even if it scored higher, $60 is a bit of a stretch for a kart game during this busy holiday season. I mean: Assassins Creed 3, dishonered, halo 4, etc just came out, and Sony wants full price for a kart game at a time when there are all these big name games coming out? $40 would have hit the spot just right for me: Just about the price of a new ps move game or a sony hd collection game. Plus, black ops 2 is coming up soon, so with all these new games, plus the fact sony barely advertised LBPK (The commercial just dropped yesterday on tv, kinda late -_-), then i'm not feeling inclined to pay for a $60 game that most people havent even heard of (thus no one will be playing on it's online multiplayer for long).

[KingOptimusAscend111]

Wow just ignore all the other reviews giving it 7/10 & 8/10.

[doogiebear]

Mod Nation Racer is better than any Mario Kart in history. Plus it may not have the old mario charms, but if one wanted to, you can use a customized mario or luigi, etc character made by users of the MNR creation community.

But when it comes to shear gameplay mechanics, MNR crushes Mario Kart. It's shiled ability, power racing boost, ability to turn weapons into road obstructions, etc turns a genre of games know for it's random, crazy enounters (cart games) into a game that gives u a bit more control over the random mess of shooting projectiles at each other.

MNR is a thinking person's Kart Racer. Mario kart is just a party game (which is fine when having guests over), where the guy in first place can end up lasting a matter of seconds. MNR however, is both that, and a game where the ultimate winner actually earned his/her victory by staying sharp and focused, timing his attacks, boosts, and drifts properly, while still maintaining the fundamental ease of play known for in the kart racing genre.

[ShaunCameron]

Nah. Actually, MNR is more of a poor man's SASR with generic level-designing and non-descript characters.

<MNR is a thinking person's Kart Racer.>

[beerkeg]

Lol at making MNR out to be more than it is. Mario Kart is more fun to play than MNR, it has much better gameplay.

Thinking person's Kart Racer? Haha, you comic.

[MoreRPG]

Im pretty sure it isn't a 5/10 but is his opinion. Looks fun to me so Im gonna buy it anyway.

[b-dash]

IGN and gamespot have put the app on the XBOXlive.
They do a good job.

[Sketchy_Galore]

People are getting a little ridiculous here. Even if this game was an improvement over Modnation racers it would still be a surprisingly uncreative use of the Littlebigplanet franchise, which has been perhaps the most creative franchise this generation up to now. The sad fact is that this game has dialled many things back from Modnation racers, all of which are thoroughly explained in this review, from the major downgrade in customisation to the major dumbing down of the tactical aspects of racing.

I'm a PS3 only owner and Littlebigplanet is one of my most treasured games. The game Media molecule are working on for the Vita makes me excited in a way no game has for a long time. This game however appears to be a dud. It happens. Not everything is a conspiracy.

[arbitor365]

reviewers have been making a concerted effort lately to erode all of their credibility

[CoryHG]

Honestly, I agree with their review. No i don't have the final version, but in beta, the handling mechanics were terrible, and he still says it's an issue. The whole time I played this, I'd rather be playing modnation or mario kart. Modnation is a very underrated game, and they should focus on giving more content for that.

[smashcrashbash]

Another strange score from IGN. I really have to stop listening to them completely.

[ItsTrue]

Just wait for more reviews and find an average score out of them. Or better yet, don't worry about what 'they' think of the game.
If you think it looks fun, buy/rent it and find out for yourself.

[Ryo-Hazuki]

I didn't like the beta much either. It felt stiff and not fluid enough

[TristanV1]

He only gave the game 5/10 to show you he is not a fanboy it has nothing to do with the game

[VideoGameJimmy]

Better not say I didn't like the beta or else the disagree brigade will come for me :O

[Jihaad_cpt]

The point of the disagree is to indicate that people didn't agree with your opinion. Or do you feel that your opinion is the only one that matters?

[TXIDarkAvenger]

What's with all these bad review lately?

[ItsTrue]

They want hits.

[Nes_Daze]

IGN looked at Halo's 3/10 was it? So they were like, hey let us get some hits ourselves too lol. Nah but seriously, 5/10 is in way, a horrible game, it's not "mediocre", that would be true 4-5 years ago, but not now. So this is a bit harsh if you ask me.

[WalterWJR]

If this same game was multi-platform the review would be alot higher.

[Killman]

I wasn't too fond of the beta. It felt way too much like MNR with Sackboy slapped on it.

[Drainage]

lmao I love reading N4G comments when a PS3 exclusive gets bad reviews. Its like the sony defense force comes out to defame IGN and bring up Halo somehow. Little fanboy wars hahahah

[for we are many]

The beta for LBPK was mediocre at best, can't judge the whole game though. But if the beta reflected the quality of the whole experience, I am not surprised by the score.

[ALLWRONG]

irony

[deafdani]

Well, that's what they get for giving Modnation Racers the finger, when it had all the potential in the world to actually dethrone Mario Kart, if it wasn't for those horrible load times.

Yes, I'm still resented that LBP Karting exists when the right thing would've been to give Modnations another chance, and improve things from the original game.

:(

[Orionsangel]

WOW, the first really bad score for a LBP game. That's what happens when media molecule doesn't develop it.

[nix]

sad.

[Slyfamous]

This is an outrage Halo4 got a 5.5\10 why is this only a 5. ;)

[Psychonaughty]

Well there's always Sonic and All-stars Racing Transformed for those that want their Mario Kart style game, every cloud..

[SDF Repellent]

Destructoid gave it a 6.5, 1Up gave it a C so this game seems below avg at best. Look at the bright side, Mario Kart on the Wii also got some terrible scores but it is still one of my favorite racing game this generation. Different stroke for different folks.

[iHeartHelloKitty]

He just lost a race and gave it a bad review.