Available since last week, The Nightmare Before Christmas Level Kit for LittleBigPlanet 2 and LittleBigPlanet Vita, featuring new objects, materials, stickers, decorations, and more, is the perfect way to celebrate Halloween for those of you who prefer to embrace the whimsical spirit of the holiday instead of all the blood and guts and horror it’s typically associated with.

Also available on the LittleBigPlanet marketplace, are Jack Skellington, Sally, Dr. Finkelstein, and Oogie Boogie costumes (sold separately or in a bundle pack) for your Sackboys and Sackgirls to dress up in across LBP 2, LBP Vita, and LBP Karting. LBP kart racers can also hop behind the wheel of Dr. Finkelstein Wheelchair’s or The Nightmare Before Christmas Sleigh.

But wait, there’s more! The Nightmare Before Christmas continues to spread its Halloween cheer later this week with the forthcoming release of the Frankenweenie Minipack, containing additional costumes for Victor and Sparky. Yup, that Sparky costume may just be the cutest gosh darn costume Sackboy’s ever popped on.

If you want to celebrate Halloween with the LittleBigPlanet community, without spending cash on The Nightmare Before Christmas DLC, Media Molecule is bringing back the Pumpkin Mask costume as a free treat for all players to download this week only.

Leave it to LittleBigPlanet to take a graphically violent and brutally depressing game like The Last Of Us and turn it into something cute and cuddly that just makes you want to squeeze its cheeks.

That’s exactly what’s happening now with the new The Last of Us Minipack DLC available for cross-buy in all the modern LittleBigPlanet titles (LittleBigPlanet 2, LittleBigPlanet Karting, LittleBigPlanet Vita).

$2.99 gets you everything needed to dress your Sackboy or Sackgirl up as Joel and Ellie. Yes, Joel’s glorious beard is included as its own costume piece. It’s just too bad there isn’t a Clicker costume in the bundle as well. Now that’d be adorable and terrifying at the same time.

Want that image at the top of the page as your desktop or mobile device wallpaper? Follow the link directly below for access to download it in various resolutions.

The Last of Us Minipack Available Now [LittleBigPlanet.com]

Man, it’s been quite a while since I wrote anything about LittleBigPlanet. I can’t remember the last time Mass Effect crossed my mind either. Well today the two mega-franchises are back in the news together.

When the PlayStation Store updates later today, Media Molecule will release the Mass Effect Costume Pack to the LittleBigPlanet universe. The pack will include all the necessary costume pieces to dress your Sackboy or Sackgirl up as Commander Shepard, Liara, Wrex, and Garrus. You’ll also get a small pack of new stickers. Yay, stickers!

All contents of the Mass Effect Costume Pack will be compatible with LittleBigPlanet 2, LittleBigPlanet Karting, and LittleBigPlanet Vita. And thanks to cross-buy a single purchase will share the costumes across all three games.

You could make a pretty convincing argument that LittleBigPlanet Karting is one of the year’s most unnecessary games. After all, the PlayStation 3 already has a perfectly good kart-racing game fueled by an avalanche of DIY user-created content–ModNation Racers. In a way, sticking Sackboy behind the wheel is like reshooting Life of Pi with Justin Bieber in the starring role.

The fact that United Front Games, the shop that gave us ModNation Racers, is also the one behind LittleBigPlanet Karting only adds to the do-over vibe, designed, obviously, to cash in on the ubiquitous popularity of said Sackperson. All I know is that if Sackboy makes an unexpected headline cameo in God of War: Ascension, I’m turning in my Sixaxis.

It may ride on four wheels—some of which may be made of balloons or sushi–but this is definitely a LittleBigPlanet game, with all the trimmings. From the second you see the sunny slo-mo video of people stuck in their cars (complete with Stephen Fry voiceover) you know exactly what’s coming, and you aren’t disappointed. The pod, the globe-like level menus, the popit, the familiar cardboard-cutout environments and characters—it’s all here. Instead of running and jumping around platform levels to collect score bubbles and items to decorate everything in sight, you’re driving around courses to get the same job done. And getting clobbered every other second by the opposing drivers’ powerups.

The LBP vibe is this game’s greatest strength. Even before you collect a massive stack of objects and stickers and begin doing your own thing (more on that in a bit), it’s easy to get sucked into the sheer cuteness of it all, even if you’re an old Sackboy hand at this point. It’s also easy to love the little unexpected touches, like the grappling mechanic you’ll have to master on certain courses. It’s exhilarating and also strategic—blowing the timing is to risk blowing your position. Races in the game’s extensive story mode aren’t the only game in town. Battle arenas and time-trial modes are also waiting to be unlocked, adding a different vibe to the proceedings.

Just like LittleBigPlanet’s jumping physics tended to tilt to the floaty side, LittleBigPlanet Karting’s drive-and-drift physics grind a more forgiving gear. You’re not likely to lose many races because you lost the handle drifting through a curve; you might lose a few because of the odd way the game handles jostling and bumping. Instead of getting knocked backward (or forward) when bumpers collide, you may end up slowly tumbling into the air or watching your momentum evaporate like gasoline fumes on a hot day. Those who groove on sending their kart opponents into the ditch like an out-of-control billiard ball will learn to steer clear—or get used to a sixth-place finish.

LBPK adopts a different approach to powerups and boost than ModNation Racers did, and it rips some of the strategy out of your racing-gloved hands. In ModNation, the power and control was entirely yours to deploy—filling and maintaining your boost/shield defense meter meant you were able to use it to fend off that race-killing powerup attack or, if no missiles or electric fields were incoming, unleash your vroom—a-zoom-zoom to make up needed ground. Here, there’s almost constant pressure to deploy the powerups you collect to defend against enemy attacks—the game even flashes a helpful icon to let you know when it’s time to launch them. Trouble is, if you just used one and don’t have another one handy, you’re screwed. Boost, meanwhile, comes only from driving over speed pads and successfully drifting the corners, just like every other racer out there. In other words, if you’re not clutching a powerup on that final straightaway, heartbreak is probably coming up fast in your rear-view mirror. Drag.

The ability to design your own level (or in this case, courses) has always been the lifeblood of LittleBigPlanet, which is why this game’s convoluted tutorials are so puzzling. Where other LBP games have featured a more intuitive crash course on the basics, letting you watch and learn the complex details from the DIY community, this one couches the essentials in 50(!) video tutorials, exactly none of which are interactive. You won’t have to watch them all to be able to concoct your own courses, but that’s still a lot of time to sink when all you want to do is start creating wicked embankments.

LittleBigPlanet Karting is PlayStation Move compatible, but the target demographic better beware, because unlike Mario Kart Wii, an additional plastic steering-wheel peripheral is required, not optional, to make it work. Stick with the Sixaxis and you’ll be just fine.

Pros:
+ Everything you love about LittleBigPlanet, in a kart-course designing game
+ LBP aesthetic transfers well to kart-racing arena

Cons:
– Drives over some fairly familiar territory
– Defensive powerups & boost/shield meter
– Convoluted level-design tutorials

Game Info:
Platform: PS3
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: United Front Games
Release Date: 11/6/2012
Genre: Racing
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Players: 1-8 (1-4 offline, 2-8 online)
Source: Review copy provided by publisher

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The second stop on our E3 2012 screenshot tour takes us into the wonderful world of PlayStation, where games like The Last of Us, Beyond: Two Souls, God of War: Ascension and The Unfinished Swan promise to astonish and old Oddworld adventures are reborn in HD. Sony may have missed an opportunity to really push the Vita during its press conference, but Sound Shapes, New Little King’s Story, Street Fighter X Tekken, Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation and others also show that the powerhouse portable has even more quality software on the way.

My only question: where the hell is The Last Guardian? I understand the game not being ready for a stage demo, but a few new screenshots would have been a nice gesture, just to quell any vaporware fears.

The Last of Us (PS3):
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Beyond: Two Souls (PS3):
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God of War: Ascension (PS3):
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The Unfinished Swan (PS3 – PlayStation Move):
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Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee HD (PS3):
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Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee HD (Vita):
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Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD (Vita):
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LittleBigPlanet Vita (Vita):
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LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3):
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Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation (Vita):
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Sports Champions 2 (PS3 – PlayStation Move):
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Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PS3):
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Papo & Yo (PS3):
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Street Fighter X Tekken (Vita):
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Wonderbook: Book of Spells (PS3 – PlayStation Move):
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DUST 514 (PS3):
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Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (Vita):
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New Little King’s Story (Vita):
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One Piece: Pirate Warriors (PS3):
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Silent Hill: Book of Memories (Vita):
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Smart As (Vita):
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Sound Shapes (PS3 and Vita):
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Spy Hunter (Vita):
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Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz (Vita):
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When Vikings Attack (PS3 and Vita):
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Multiplayer in God of War? I know, it still doesn’t sound quite right. But Sony Santa Monica has revealed its competitive ambitions for the next PlayStation 3 mythological adventure, and here you’ll find the first screenshots showing teams of Kratos wannabes fighting for the right to slay a giant cyclops.

Not to be outdone, Activision came through with the completely expected news that Call of Duty: Black Ops II is exploding onto the gaming scene this fall. The near-future Cold War premise with horseback riding and unmanned drones turned into an army of robot invaders? Now that stuff wasn’t so predictable.

For mascot kart racing fans, new screenshots for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and LittleBigPlanet Karting crossed the finish line this week. Bethesda also dropped off a screen-grab six-pack for awesome-looking first-person action game Dishonored and, proving once again that games are art, Giant Sparrow presented its beautifully abstract first-person painting adventure game, The Unfinished Swan. Just one more artsy PlayStation Network exclusive to watch out for, folks.

Other new screenshot galleries to check out this week include: Persona 4 Golden, Orgarhythm, Ragnarok Odyssey, Mario Tennis Open, GT Academy 2012, Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy, The Last Story, Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles, Hitman: Absolution, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection Vita, Ys Origin, Pokémon Conquest, Ms. Splosion Man, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Unchained Blades, Warlock: Master of the Arcane, Starvoid, Blood Bowl: Chaos Edition, Salem: The Crafting MMO, Enclave: Shadows of Twilight and Free Realms third birthday celebration.

God of War: Ascension (PS3):
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Call of Duty: Black Ops II (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita):
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LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3):
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Dishonored (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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The Unfinished Swan (PS3/PSN/PS Move):
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Persona 4 Golden (PlayStation Vita):
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Orgarhythm (PlayStation Vita):
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Ragnarok Odyssey (PlayStation Vita):
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Mario Tennis Open (Nintendo 3DS):
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GT Academy 2012 (PSN/PS3):
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Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy (Nintendo 3DS):
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The Last Story (Nintendo Wii):
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Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles – The Avengers Table (XBLA, PSN for PS3 and Vita):
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Hitman: Absolution (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (PlayStation Vita):
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Ys Origin (PC):
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Pokémon Conquest (Nintendo DS):
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Ms. Splosion Man – Splokour Challenge Event (XBLA):
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The Testament of Sherlock Holmes (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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Unchained Blades (PSP, Nintendo 3DS):
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Warlock: Master of the Arcane (PC):
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Starvoid (PC):
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Blood Bowl: Chaos Edition (PC):
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Salem: The Crafting MMO (PC, Mac, Linux):
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Enclave: Shadows of Twilight (Nintendo Wii):
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Free Realms – Third Birthday Event (PC, Mac, PSN):
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Check Out These Links:

• Ragnarok Odyssey Shows PS Vita More RPG Love
• Orgarhythm Crossbreeds Pikmin With Patapon
• TopWare Resurrects Enclave Wii-Make
• Persona 4 Gets Remastered for PS Vita
• First-Person Painting Adventure The Unfinished Swan Waddling Onto PSN
• Mario Tennis Open Update: Multiplayer, Ink Showdown, StreetPass Features and Bonus Characters (vgblogger.com)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II Going Black to the Future
• God of War: Ascension Redefines Competitive Multiplayer
• Sony Teaser Announces God of War: Ascension
• Get Ready for Square Enix’s Nintendo 3DS Summer of Fun
• Square Enix’s 3DS Final Fantasy Rhythm Game Comes West This Summer
• Sackboy Hops Behind the Wheel in LittleBigPlanet Karting
• Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles First Look
• Zen Pinball 2 Comes to PS3 and PS Vita this Spring, Upgrade Free for Existing Zen/Marvel Pinballers
• Hitman: Absolution’s Special Edition is for Professionals Only
• XSEED Games Now Publishing Ys Series on Steam

Below you’ll find a baker’s dozen galleries full of beautiful video game still imagery. Epic Mickey 2 makes its first appearance, the sequel’s official announcement for Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 hitting the newswire on Friday. Arkane Studios’ first-person action game Dishonored resurfaces, looking more impressive than ever. More new pics of Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade ‘Arcade Next’ titles Minecraft, Trials Evolution and Bloodforge are in as well, and the first screenshots of Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition have me craving an iPad.

Other screenshotted games include Capcom’s sugary-sweet platformer World Gone Sour (PSN/XBLA release is a go for April 10/11), Cyanide’s tactical PC RPG Confrontation (retail and digital download launch set for April 5th), newly launched mech action game Armored Core V, the PS3 and PS Vita cross-compatible Foosball 2012, Sony’s LittleBigPlanet Karting PS3 kart racer, Square Enix’s Nintendo 3DS music game Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, and Final Fantasy XIII-2 featuring a Mass Effect 3 DLC crossover.

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360):
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Dishonored (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition (XBLA):
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Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition (iPad):
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World Gone Sour (PSN, XBLA):
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Bloodforge (XBLA):
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Trials Evolution (XBLA):
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Confrontation (PC):
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Armored Core V (PS3, Xbox 360):
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Foosball 2012 (PS3, PS Vita):
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LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3):
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Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (Nintendo 3DS):
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Final Fantasy XIII-2 – N7 Armor DLC (PS3, Xbox 360):
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Read these related articles:

• Trials, Fable, Minecraft and Bloodforge Headline XBLA’s ‘Arcade Next’ (vgblogger.com)
• Square Enix’s 3DS Final Fantasy Rhythm Game Comes West This Summer (vgblogger.com)
• Cross-Compatible Foosball Wrist Flicks PS3 and PS Vita This Spring (vgblogger.com)
• Fable Heroes Brings Toy Puppet Hack-and-Slash to XBLA (vgblogger.com)
• Final Fantasy XIII-2′s Heroes Dress Up Like Commander Shepard (vgblogger.com)
• Sackboy Hops Behind the Wheel in LittleBigPlanet Karting (vgblogger.com)
• Overhaul Games Enhancing Baldur’s Gate Classic for iPad (vgblogger.com)

LittleBigPlanet Karting.

Yes, it’s a real thing. And no, I don’t quite get it either.

With ModNation Racers already fulfilling the role of Sony’s first-party kart racing franchise, attaching Sackboy to his own standalone mascot racer, although adorable and surely fun to play, seems redundant and unnecessary, particularly when there are so many other grand LittleBigPlanet spin-off ideas to be thought up (and with LBP2 already providing the tools to create so many different types of gaming experiences anyway). Why not do something like a Sackboy RPG, à la Super Mario RPG, with a quest and story editor built in? I’d love to see something a bit more ambitious like that.

But obviously, despite a largely positive reception–including my own glowing review—ModNation must not be making the needle move enough for Sony. So here we are, on the day Sony has officially announced LittleBigPlanet Karting, a game that was first leaked out of some PlayStation event not too long ago.

Tying things together even further, ModNation developer United Front Games, in conjunction with Media Molecule, is behind the wheel of this Sackboy racer, fully embracing the LittleBigPlanet mantra of “Play, Create, Share” and incorporating familiar gadgets, such as the grappling hook, to take the go kart antics to a whole new level of crazy.

It’s a LittleBigPlanet game so yes, it will center around another charming campaign to save the Craftworld, complete with expansive 3D game worlds to race through, arena battles, objective-based missions, boss showdowns and mini-games. And yes, there will be a robust level editor to tinker around with. Players will be able to create their own race tracks and customize rules and weapons. Sackboy and his kart will also be fully customizable, surely with loads of DLC skins and costumes to come after launch.

I have no doubt that LittleBigPlanet Karting will be a fun ride, and despite my reservations I do look forward to taking it for a spin on my PS3, whenever Sony plans to ship it sometime this year. Just watch the announcement trailer; there’s no way this game won’t be a blast. But still, for a franchise that’s built on thinking outside the box, I see this as a very inside-the-box way of expanding the franchise.