The problem here is that the people don't care whether the actual words are offensive or detrimental to Islam, the fact that it's used for something other than worship is offensive. It's the what? Twenty-first century now?

Its ironic you should say this. Because in response to this one of the leaders of the islamic community criticised the recall citing that they believe in freedom of speech and it would be hypocritical to refuse that priveledge to other people. He and many others stated they did not find it offensive in the first place either. In response to this Sony said they were taking precautions to play it safe.

I know there was an article about this somewhere but I can't find it.

well the thing is the issue isn't freedom of speech but sony just being safe. if you know that by playing your game the second largest religion in the world would be violating its creed, it's good business practice to pull it.

all these kids screaming FREEDOM OF SPEECH don't understand that it's that exact freedom of speech and choice that allows muslims to say "NOT COOL SONY" and the power of freedom of speech is demonstrated by sony realizing the bad press isn't worth it. freedom of speech is always valuable but it doesn't have to be your primary concern if it's something simple like two words in a song.

now if the game was about, say, overthrowing the american government, and they told them to change it, it's one thing. but there have been plenty of games about killing muslims, christians, whatever, and no one really complains (KILL THE HAITIAN DICKHEADS being a notable exception); its just that this happens to violate a religious creed, they notified sony politely and sony rightfully decided their little platforming game isn't worth offending an entire religious group.

I agree that pulling it was a good idea in terms of business practice. They've gotta maximize their profits or whatnot. And the passages in that song could have been less I WALK IN SHADOWS OF DEATH KILL TO MY ENEMIES etc.

It just bothers me that even if they weren't the situation would be the same. It might not escalate to the level of "Okay they're not listening, explode 'em, gents" but the fact that it offends them offends me and my logic. I mean shit, I'd be glad my holy books passages were in the game, it might intrigue others to learn about my religion. Maybe get some converts (kind of a long shot but whatever), even.

well the thing is the game violates the religious edict. the quran can't be used in song.

imagine a game where somehow they broke a rule in the bible and directly that. idk xenosaga/gears's pretty offensive but it was also obtuse as hell so.

I convinced my friend with a PS3 to buy this game when it comes out. Looks really cool, but it seems like I'd get bored with it after a while.

Nah, it seems that wording is just an exaggeration.

The actual EULA is more like:

I believe this is fine. If someone is making remarkable stickers or items for their levels, it would be awesome for Sony to use these as examples for what you can make, or if we ever get say McDonald making advertising levels, then they could use your items and stickers in their level, with no expense. That wording just sounds like, if you make something in LBP, you're making it for LBP (or Sony bicariously). No problem with that. Just, don't like, make some original designs to show off your new cartoon character to the world, because you might get that stolen before you can syndicate it. (Note to Self.)

 I'm currently going through levels again to 'ace' them (beat them without losing any lives), and collect all treasures. It's still a lot of fun; this game has a lot to offer. Level creation on the other hand...

Making decent levels is too time consuming and all sorts of things go wrong. The result would be that you'd have a hardcore group of people who have the patience to make levels for others, which is cool, but early previews showed creating as something everyone could do. It's not about requiring certain skills, it's more about the editor being limited and counter intuitive at times, the different layers you have to take into account, and the unreliable physics that require a lot of testing. It's easy to make a buggy, short, and bad level with this, but anything fun will take a long time to make.

You could say "duh, not everyone can design games". It's not that.. it's more about some design decisions in LittleBigPlanet that could have been better. The undo(rewind) function is buggy, things must be glued together or all will fall apart, painting with stickers is not so cool, the tutorials cover the basics but aren't deep enough, some simple contraption might require a complex setup, etc.

It's not really a bad editor; it's very good as a matter of fact. It has the potential to be better and more accessible, though.

I read in one of the many LBP sites somewhere that the dude in charge of LBP is unsatisfied with the movement of Sackboy, and commented he wants to update this in future patches. (So Sackboy could do a flip or something)
Maybe they'll update the GUI for that level editor in future patches as well? Here's hoping!

huh i got this game ahead of release date, too. I didn't even know that it was pushed back but its pretty fun to play with other people, I don't know if I would want to play it too much by myself.

huh i got this game ahead of release date, too. I didn't even know that it was pushed back but its pretty fun to play with other people, I don't know if I would want to play it too much by myself.

That's a selling feature in itself, methinks. Though I don't mind playing Warhawk with my buddies, it always leaves two to themselves, and we end up reverting to Rock Band or Halo or Castle Crashers or whatever that is. Another PlayStation multiplayer game, huzzah! PAIN doesn't count (though is the best 3AM game ever.)

So it's out today, I think, right? Anyone get it yet? I have to wait til tomorrow night to play it.

Yeah I think it's officially out. At least the servers are up, and the lag is horrible. Some of the beta levels are great (though we've already seen the good ones on youtube), but the majority are pretty simplistic "go from point A to B" stuff. I guess that's to be expected, but it makes searching for good yet-to-be rated stuff hard.

I published a pretty lame level called operation c.a.k.e. XDDD.. it started good but I got frustrated with the editor and some of my ideas didn't translate well into the game. Oh well... maybe I'll make a better one when I have time.

I want to make a Mr. Driller style level. That's my first level idea. if they're all Point A to Point B levels, I might as well do something different if possible. Pull out some of my NES experiences Maybe recreate the stealthing scenario of R.E.S.C.U.E. the Embassy Mission, lol that'd be awesome. What about something like Tank Wars, would that be possible? Is there a way in the editor to get points for killing each other, or is it strictly about collecting bobbles and reaching the endpad?

EDIT:
Totally sweet. I pre-ordered LBP with Electronic Beautique, and just used the special code they gave me with the pre-order. It promised that I'd get a Kratos (God of War) costume to put on my Sackboy. So I just used it, and---WOW. They were extra nice! They gave me a Kratos, Minotaur, and Medusa costume, as well as a pack of stickers! This is awesome! I can't wait to play it tomorrow!

edit2:
Just unwrapped the game, popped it in my PS3, thought'd I'd at least watch the opening, or play a level before work----and, I'll have you know the update I had to download right before playing, was finished updating as I walked out the door for my shift.
Ah, PlayStation 3.

EDIT3:
Huminahuminahumina... I knew I would like LBP. No idea why. I never figured out until playing what it controls like, or anything. I just knew I would love it. And I am in rapture. This is everything I thought it might be, and it's disgustingly fun to play. I nearly went to work late for this game. Thank you self-restraint! I freaking hate you! Well, sorry The Dude, but you have to work. But-But-But-Iwannaplaywithmysack-- No, The Dude, back to work with you.

:*(

---

ALRIGHT.
All blubbering aside, let's get to this... The gameplay is simple. Use the leftstick to move left-right and between the foreground, midground and background. You use the X button to jump, which is regulated by how hard you press the button. You use R1 to grab objects, and if you're going to Tarzan through, you basically R1 to the first thing, swing to the next, let go of R1, then R1 again to grab the next object. This took me a couple deaths to get the hang of, but in retrospect it's amazingly smooth. When you hold the L2 or R2 you can then use the Left Analog or Right Analog corrispondingly to control the left or right hand. Use the d-pad up, down, left right to change expressions (up=happy, down=sad, right=annoyed, left=scared) and press the direction again to make the expression more intense.
The sixaxis (and this is what I was afraid of, but was pleased by what it turned out to be) controls the head movement, or if you press in the Left Analog (L3 button) you can instead control the pelvis. (Yeah, pelvis thrust is pretty fun esp. with angry face)

These simple controls take some getting used to, but that "some" is about five minutes. Triangle lets you talk to NPCs, Circle lets you cancel, and Square is the next paragraph. When you jump, it should be noted, it is not solid like Mario. Instead, imagine you're controlling a sackperson, go figure, or a marionette. It feels more like that, really, which is neither a good or bad thing.

The square button opens your menu on a lasso that Sackboy holds called the "Popit" menu. With the Popit you can select stickers, decorations, restart from last checkpoint (if you get stuck), pull up chat, customise your character, simple selecting stuff. You can pick the skin (Denim, orange, Kratos(if you got the preorder)), the eyes, hair, glasses, gloves, shirt, pants, etc. You pick the main and secondary colour of your scheme, which affects your apparel and Popit menu colours. And you can save your custom character schemes, load old ones, delete them, or best of all you can Randomise.
A neat thing in the sticker Popit, you can pull up PlayStation Eye (for those who don't know, PS Eye is a video camera attachment) to do real-time picture taking. When you do a PS Eye snapshot, your pictures are saved in a separate folder for later use. I was surprised with how easy this works. You can basically fill a wall by taking pictures real-time. So I can go :P last second and its there, then take another picture right away going :O or whatever. Like those picture booths.
Another sticker use is as a trigger. For instance in the first four levels you will see cardboard stars on strings, and you can post whatever you want on it to no avail. When you unlock the star sticker, you can use it on a star cut-out to trigger getting extra items or unlocking part of the level. So, stickers are also a part of the gameplay in a way.
Finally, you can always stick yourself or friends with stickers, which can be fun. See: Cyclops Sackboy via sticker.

As for the level editor, I can't comment as I haven't tried it yet.

K. I beat the game. The guy at EB was telling me that the final level is a tutorial, that teaches you how to build the technical stuff. Well, that's a lie, unless he means the various tutorials in the level editor. And it taught the basics.
Not sure what to build yet. Everytime I set out to make something, I fail and give up. Anyone have any luck with this? I have some great ideas on paper, but in practice, it's a pain in the ass to pull off. The view really IS a drag. You have to open costume editor for a moment to zoom in, and the multi-levels are a pain to build in. Maybe it just takes patience and copious practice. So far, this is the weakest side of LBP by far.

I still don't see the big deal about this game. Is it the level editor, cute graphics, I seriously want to know what the fuck it is!

Hard to place... See, if you've ever looked at Katamari and are like "gay." or "wtf." and then you watch someone play it and are like "wtf are you playing? This is so gay." And then after half an hour you're like, "Whoa you're big enough to get the cat! GET THE CAT!" and then someone else walks in the room and is like, "what the hell are you playing?" and you're all like "It's Katamari! Nononononononononono"

That's kind of what LittleBigPlanet is, except it isn't gay. People walk in the room and are like "what the hell are you playing? Oh LittleBigPlanet. Is it any good?" and to that I say "Yeah, it's like Mario, except Mario is a marionette."

That's basically it. The gameplay at times is fidgetty and annoying, but overall, it's the most entertaining platformer I've personally played in years. Even those gawdawful-pull-your-hair-out puzzles or platforming sequences are completely awesome.
In short: it's fun as fuck to play. It's that simple.

I still don't see the big deal about this game. Is it the level editor, cute graphics, I seriously want to know what the fuck it is!

it's fun

Has anyone made a level yet? I published "Welcome to Dude City" the other day, if anyone's interested. Got some ideas for sequel levels, but no firm plans. It was overwhelming at first, but when you ignore the empty map at your disposal, and just work on something small at first, you'll find the level building goes exceptionally quickly, and there's always little spots where you'll be like, "Oh I could totally put something here".
Very impressed, have to say, in retrospect.

I convinced my friend with a PS3 to buy this game when it comes out. Looks really cool, but it seems like I'd get bored with it after a while.

Just like 90% of all games anywhere ever?

I still don't see the big deal about this game. Is it the level editor, cute graphics, I seriously want to know what the fuck it is!

Most of the fun comes from unexpected or hilarious things that happen when you play with someone else. The games loses at least 50% of its charm when you play alone. Most of the fun comes from being able to hit each other into deadly obstacles, grabbing and dragging each other into fires and spikes, and otherwise trying to euthanize one another. I played for a few hours with a friend of mine last night, and these are some of the unexpected antics that had us seriously rofling:

1. While trying to hold up a plank so I could roll explosives across it, the bomb accidentally fell too hard and obliterated both my friend and the plank
2. Trying to cross a chasm on moving platforms, I let him go first and then ran back to a switch, opening the bottom of the platform and dropping him into an untimely demise
3. While fighting the boss who throws bombs at you, we drug a bomb over to him, only to get trapped by the platform behind us, blowing us both up
4. I trapped him behind a block I was pushing and shoved him right into an electrical murderlizer, murderlizing him instantly
5. There's one spot where you maneuver one sackboy on a platform while the other operates the controls. Needless to say he rose me into a cloud of "horrible gas"
6. While driving one of the cars, he got stuck underneath the wheels and I drug him halfway across the level

Not to mention tons of other little moments... It's hard to convey just how funny they are when they actually happen.

Yeah, you shouldn't say this can't be fun without trying it with a bunch of friends! Like Belross said, the enjoyment factor comes mostly from messing around with your friends.