We had heard rumblings of a possible LittleBigPlanet/Disney crossover well before LBP dropped last fall, but now that rumor has finally manifested in the form of a Pirates of the Caribbean level pack. It isn’t quite Mickey & Co., but what we’ve received is still a pretty hot property and, if nothing else, a fascinating crossover experiment. Not just a simple costume pack (though you can buy just that separately), the Pirates of the Caribbean content is more akin the last year’s Metal Gear Solid 4 pack; five brand new Media Molecule constructed levels arrive with the pack. If that wasn’t enough, the element of water, for both building levels and traversing them, comes with the package. For a complete rundown, please gaze upon this copy and paste from the Sony press site:
– New Gameplay features for Create: Water – Global Water Object, Scuba Gear, Bubble Machine, Water Switch
– 5 Brand new Pirates of the Caribbean themed Levels
– 1 New costume: The Cannibal: Leg Bands, Teeth, Nose Decoration, Hair, Loincloth, Skin
– 4 new music tracks
– A new level background
– 8 Materials
– 14 Decorations
– 27 Objects
– 133 Stickers
– 11 brand new PlayStation® Trophies
And, for the costume pack, we have Barbossa, Elizabeth Swann, Will Turner, Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones, and Tia Dalma.
The five new levels, while not being as intrinsically linked to the source material as the MGS levels, were still a good deal of fun. Though it goes hand in hand with the pirate theme, the water element is what truly defined the new levels and, in the grand scheme of things, serves as the endearing and enduring take away for the Pirates pack.
Water functions much as one would expect. When submerged, a timer begins that slowly countdown to zero. To avoid death, Sackboy can either collect air bubbles or resurface and refresh his breath. Material objects also have distinct buoyancy, and a couple puzzles even require you to rearrange stuff underwater, where you can drag and move it up and down at will, and then drain the water to be able to climb your construction and finish the puzzle. I expected water to function much in the same manner user created levels kind of “faked” the experience; i.e. they’d give you a jetpack and then a glass overlay in front of you, which nicely simulated being submerged, but the real thing turned out much better than anticipated.
It’s also, as one would hope, highly customizable in the level editor. If you decide to add water to a level, it can’t just be in one little section. It has to flood certain, and easily adjustable, percentage of the floor, but the end result isn’t as restrictive as you may think. You can make the water level go up or down with switches, change the color and murkiness of the water, and, if you so desire, add scuba gear pickups for longer dive sessions. If you’re like me, you’ll spend a few hours trying to build rocket powered machines to plow through your new lakes and oceans, but the real treat will be waiting for the more talented members of the LittleBigPlanet community to get their hands on these new tools.
In the mean time, you have five brand new, Media Molecule branded levels. Pirate Town has you escorting a boat, which requires you frequently dive off the edge, evade electric fish, and complete some underwater tasks. Navy Frigate shoots Sackboy out of couple canons to try and break into a fort, and concludes with a roller coaster boat ride at the end. Cursed Bay recreated one of the more recognizable scenes in the movies, with Sackboy rolling through the jungle in a massive wagon wheel. The last level, The Kraken, was a rather uninspired and repetition heavy boss fight, but it was far from a bad level. The new levels won’t knock your socks off, but from a quality and functionality standpoint, they’re still a cut above most of the stuff you’ll find cruising through the mountains of user levels.
Overall it’s a good pack. Not quite as impressive as the MGS 4 pack, but, as is the case with LittleBigPlanet’s user content, the best is surely yet to come.
