PSN Review: Sackboy's Prehistoric Moves

Many gamers are eagerly awaiting the release of LittleBigPlanet 2 in January. For those of you who just can’t wait, Sackboy is gracing the PSN with a new stand-alone adventure. Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves is a short two player campaign that is designed to show off some of the capabilities of Move controls in the LBP universe. Will this game be on the top of your holiday shopping list, or should you save your money for LittleBigPlanet 2? Find out after the jump.

First off, this is a stand-alone game. There is no create mode, and you can’t play any of the LBP network levels. This also means that LBP DLC will not work with this game. There are six levels to play through, a few mini-games, and that is it. It is an incredibly short game, and it feels like it should have been DLC for LBP like the Metal Gear Solid level pack. Considering how little gameplay is contained in Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves, this definitely didn’t need to be its own game.

Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves is also built on the LittleBigPlanet engine, so you won’t be getting any new mechanics out of this game. You will be going through the levels using the same pulleys, mechanical creatures, and jumping blocks. There are some new ways to get around the levels (such as using gears to move platforms), but most of the mechanics you will have seen before.

The one new feature is the ability to interact with certain objects with the Move controller. The first player controls sackboy, while the second player assists with the Move controller. The second player will need to move blocks, activate switches, and basically make it so that the first player can make it through the level. At times, you will need to coordinate the actions of the 1st and 2nd player, but for the most part, playing with the Move controller is a very passive experience.

While playing through the levels, it becomes obvious that the structure of the game is broken. As oppose to the original LittleBigPlanet, the levels in Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves feel disconnected. Instead of the levels being a fluid world to navigate through, they feel like one Move obstacle after another. The levels contain the same level of detail and thoughtful crafting, but the poor integration of Move support in this title leaves the levels with much to be desired.

In reality, Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves is just a demo of Move controls in the LBP universe. If you happen to be a PlayStation Plus subscriber, you can pick this game up for free, but I couldn’t recommend anyone else pick up this game, even at the price of 6 US dollars. I commend the developers for attempting to come up with fresh, new ideas, but they failed to deliver on this experience.