This game takes the platforming standard set by Nintendo and greatly improves on it.
The Super Mario Bros series of video games has long been influential in the history of gaming. The first, Super Mario Bros., was the first console game available to home gamers. Later, Super Mario 64 became the first three-dimensional platformer, moving games into the realm of realism and setting a graphical standard that would revolutionize gaming. Recently, Mario went back to his roots with a classic-inspired side scrolling platformer. But the success of the Mario series is being challenged by a new series of platfomers. This year, the sequel to the popular Little Big Planet debuted and is poised to take the place of Super Mario Bros. as the best platformer available.
New Super Mario Bros Wii (or NSMBW) is heavily based on the classic sidescrolling Super Mario games, in art style, gameplay, and story. The standard "Princess Peach is captured by Bowser" story makes for a simple plot. The game plays much like a classic Mario Bros game but adds new moves and powerups so that it still feels fresh.
Little Big Planet 2 (LBP2) is the sequel to the hugely popular game Little Big Planet. They focus heavily on the player's imagination, with costumes, level editors, and decorations. LBP2 has an engrossing story involving several funny characters, beautiful themed worlds, and an antagonist that resembles a vacuum cleaner. While technically the game is two-dimensional, there are three planes, a foreground, a background, and a middle ground, that the player can switch between, introducing the third dimension while still keeping the two-dimensional gameplay.
As both games are platformers, the platforming should be one of the major issues. NSMBW is much like its predecessors in this respect, with tight controls that allow for precise jumping. LBP2 falls behind a bit here. As LBP2 is more physics-based than NSMBW, many jumps require forward momentum, and if the player has too much momentum he can sometimes overshoot his target. A player can also occasionally bounce off the edge of a thin platform and miss his landing. NSMBW has much better midair control and landing detection.
Both NSMBW and LBP2 emphasize their multiplayer compatibility. Although one might not think of a Mario Bros game as being multiplayer, the multiplayer experience is handled quite well. The players may sometimes get in each other's ways or steal a needed powerup, but if a player is about to die he can press the A button. This places his character into a bubble that floats towards the other players, who can pop the bubble when the danger is passed. This system helms cut down on deaths during hard sections and makes accidental team killing much less painful. LBP2's multiplayer shines in versus levels, where the players battle each other for points, but falls far behind on cooperative levels. If a player falls too far behind, the camera leaves him behind to follow the others. Players can be pulled to their death if another player grapples them mid-swing. This problems is exacerbated in certain parts of the game that require multiple players.
Replayability can be an important aspect for some players. A large amount of collectables and rewards encourage players to try different play styles or explore the world. NSMBW offers a ninth world with levels unlocked by collecting coins in the previous worlds. LBP2, however, offers a vast amount of materials, stickers, costumes, minigames, and more to tempt players back into the game. The LBP community routinely creates amazingly varied and fun levels every day, meaning a player is never looking for a level to play. Additionally, LBP2 supports the Playstation 3's trophy system that awards players for reaching milestones in-game.
Customization is a large part of many games now. LBP2 offers many costumes and clothing parts for character customization, and myriad stickers and accessories to decorate everything else. In addition, players who own the first Little Big Planet can import all their costumes and items from the first game into the second, greatly increasing the available options. Think your pod needs more color? Paint it lime green. Want to give your character bunny ears? Stick a few on. The possibilities are endless. Unfortunately, NSMBW does not have this amount of customization. Player 1 is stuck with Mario, while players 2-4 can choose between Luigi, Yellow Toad, or Blue Toad.
One of the best parts of LBP2 is the community content. The powerful level editing tool allows players to create games that reach beyond the platforming genre. There are currently over 3 million levels online, from Role-playing Games to First-Person Shooters. Some enterprising creators have even created versions of classic video games such as the NES games Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. The community takes the basic content the game has to offer and increases it a hundredfold.
While NSMBW comes from a long line of ground-breaking video games, it does not have the uniqueness that sets LBP2 apart from the pack. LBP2 takes the best of the platforming world and expands upon it in almost every way possible, then breaks the bounds of platforming and takes on every other genre. LBP2 is unique in that it not only is an excellent game for fans of the platforming genre, but it also appeals to those who would normally not play a platformer. It is one of the few games that are truly revolutionary.