{"id":10206,"date":"2013-04-23T11:07:10","date_gmt":"2013-04-23T04:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/?p=10206"},"modified":"2013-04-23T11:07:10","modified_gmt":"2013-04-23T04:07:10","slug":"karting-around-with-little-bigplanet-on-the-ps3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/karting-around-with-little-bigplanet-on-the-ps3\/","title":{"rendered":"Karting Around with Little BigPlanet on the PS3"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"by Lori Cunningham<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you or your child is a PlayStation 3<\/a> fan, you may be aware of the cute little Sackboy from LittleBigPlanet. \u00a0When LittleBigPlanet first came on the scene of video games, it was highly acclaimed. \u00a0Young gamers quickly fell in love with this cute little knitted fella who always found himself in big adventures.<\/p>\n

Now, a new version is on the scene, LittleBigPlanet Karting<\/a>, \u00a0rated E for Everyone<\/a>, where Sackboy finds himself in a cardboard kart, racing through imaginative tracks and competing and combatting with far away visitors known as the Hoard, who have come to steal the keenest prizes from Sackboy’s world, Craftworld. \u00a0Sackboy is on the project to ward off these Hoard”ers” and claim all illustrious prizes for Craftworld residents.<\/p>\n

\"LittleBigPlanet\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\"LittleBigPlanet<\/p>\n

The game starts off with Sackboy choosing where on LittleBigPlanet he wants to go, \u00a0As you play more games, more opportunities open up. \u00a0Playing Story Mode makes the game more fun. \u00a0Story mode starts off in each game with a very colorful mini story about what Sackboy’s mission is. \u00a0He is often\u00a0commissioned\u00a0by the queen of Craftworld on his next mission. \u00a0The stories are a bit wacky and help to better explain the races you are about to embark upon. \u00a0You can also skip through the story if you’ve seen it before.<\/p>\n

Driving the kart is no easy task, as I often find myself drifting from one side of the road to the other. \u00a0It takes finesse and a lot of practice to gain more control of your kart. \u00a0Each race has an assortment of 8 drivers, many are the Hoard, others are robots that are not your target.<\/p>\n

\"littlebigplanet_karting-1\"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \"lbpk-e3-2012-07\"<\/p>\n

As you drive through very\u00a0imaginative\u00a0scenery, you can pick up weapons by driving through them. \u00a0Weapons can be used to speed up your driving for a temporary time, to\u00a0knock\u00a0off a competitor, or shot against an incoming\u00a0missile\u00a0– headed straight for you.\"Kart<\/p>\n

Though there is a bit of\u00a0violence\u00a0with the act of shooting other drivers…or getting shot…though there is no blood. \u00a0One of the weapons you pick up is a\u00a0jet activated giant boxing glove that you hop into and it\u00a0catapults\u00a0you ahead of other drivers. \u00a0It’s very fast and a fun ride.<\/p>\n

My kids enjoyed playing the game and feasting their eyes on all the creative cartooning and colors, but they had trouble\u00a0maneuvering\u00a0the vehicle which made them lose interest in the game sooner. \u00a0In order to \u00a0give a more thorough review, I continued onward and was rewarded. \u00a0Although I never seemed to do well enough to get past 3rd place (even in the Casual mode – the best mode for kids), I was able to complete a number of levels and move onto more challenges and adventures.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Creative Memories<\/span><\/h2>\n

One very interesting facet of LittleBigPlanet Karting is the option to create your own racing game. \u00a0Using simple creation tools, players can build their own race tracks and tricked-out racing karts. \u00a0There are so many creative and off-the-wall things you can create in your racing world. \u00a0You make numerous\u00a0race tracks\u00a0and arenas on your own personal “moon.” \u00a0Creating your own track or arena can be overwhelming. \u00a0LittleBigPlanet had created 57 different tutorial videos to help you create and add items to your race. \u00a0I viewed a couple and then went on my own.<\/p>\n

I only created one race track, but you really could go crazy creating tracks and arenas big and small. \u00a0Because LittleBigPlanet is such a\u00a0zany\u00a0game, you can make as crazy or nearly “normal” a space as you want. \u00a0For my\u00a0race track\u00a0 I choose a blue jean denim track with a belt for the side rails. \u00a0I placed trees and cows around as well as some fans to cheer them on.<\/p>\n

\"Little\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\"Little<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I created some greenery (didn’t finish yet) and added objects along the race track that racers could pick up as “prizes” as they raced.<\/p>\n

\"Little \"Little<\/p>\n

My race track is a work in progress, but you get the idea of how it works. \u00a0There are so many things you can do to customize your track or arena. \u00a0Honestly, the choices can get overwhelming. \u00a0My advice would be to help your child get started with a small track to learn about track making. \u00a0S\/he can embellish it anyway s\/he wants. \u00a0Even after your child is done, s\/he can always come back later and make changes. \u00a0Once s\/he gets the hang of it, your child can try their hand at a larger track.<\/p>\n

\"Little\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\"Little<\/p>\n

You can then save and play the game yourself or upload it to the online community so others can enjoy your customized adventure. \u00a0To continue the adventure online, you first need to “purchase” the LittleBigPlanet Karting Online Pass, which is a free download with the code that comes in the packaging. \u00a0Once you add your code and download the pass, you can go online and engage in other players’ unique race tracks. \u00a0I choose MooMooFarm, as 15,547 players had “hearted” it, meaning that they liked it.<\/p>\n

\"Little<\/p>\n

MooMooFarm was a fun racetrack with lots of cows outside of the track and moles jumping out of the ground to try to make you crash. \u00a0Once I entered the race track, I could practice, but the actual race would start in 60 seconds, giving other online players the chance to race against me. \u00a0If no one joins you, you play against robots. \u00a0It was a fun fast game, but somehow I ended up in last place. \u00a0\ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n

Little BigPlanet Karting is available through Amazon<\/a> for $29.98 \u00a0with free shipping.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Mom’s Perspective<\/span><\/h2>\n

Initially, LittleBigPlanet took some time to learn. \u00a0Fortunately, there are a number training videos you can take to teach you how to take corners faster, pick up objects, and blast your competitors. \u00a0Although I still have trouble beating out my competitors, I’m getting better and better. \u00a0My kids, however, still struggle controlling the kart. \u00a0But one thing I’ve learned is that kids tend to hang in there longer if their parents play with them. \u00a0They just need to be encouraged.<\/p>\n

Besides a little violence with karts blowing up, it’s a fun game that keeps you engaged. \u00a0The Story line really helps to help you understand the race and some of the obstacles you encounter along the way. \u00a0There are over 50 levels to play in addition to creating your own race tracks and arenas. \u00a0My kids are still relatively young at 7 and 10, so creating their own race track is not something that appeals to them too much. \u00a0But I can see how older kids might like the opportunity to make their own race space – it’s akin to creating your own video game. \u00a0And judging by the huge amount of creative races online, creating customized tracks is\u00a0hit.<\/p>\n

It’s amazing how today’s games are so multi-faceted. \u00a0LittleBigPlanet is much like an onion…it has many layers to it. \u00a0It’s definitely a game you need to take some time with, but if you have the time, it’s a great game to enjoy…with our without your kids!<\/p>\n

What video games do you enjoy with your kids?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* \u00a0I was given a copy of Little BigPlanet Karting in exchange for my honest opinions. \u00a0All opinions are my own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Little BigPlanet Karting if a fun karting game made for the PS3 that features Sackboy and his adventures in karting in Craftworld, doing his best to win the esteemed prizes for his planet. Players can create their own “planet” with customized races.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,698,13,14],"tags":[694,1745,1749,1744,2783,1746,1747,1081,980,1750,1748,334],"class_list":["post-10206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dads","category-games-2","category-kids","category-moms","tag-games","tag-kart","tag-kart-racing","tag-karting","tag-kids","tag-litlebigplanet","tag-little-big-planet","tag-playstation","tag-ps3","tag-racing","tag-sackboy","tag-video-games","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/p-content\/themes\/atahualpa342\/images\/articles\/2013\/04\/Marketing_PreorderSplash.png?fit=450%2C335&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}