It all begins with a brand-new story mode that provides a beautifully reshaped world for Sackboy to explore and play. Each story level is influenced by cultural high points in history and is visually stunning. LittleBigPlanet 2 will offer revolutionary gameplay mechanics and a level of customization and creative control that has never been seen before. Players can reset the controller buttons for any object and change the rules to any level through an ability called Direct Control and new multiplayer abilities advance the types of games possible for a social/competitive experience — imagine racing games, flying games, shooters, puzzle games, sports, action/adventure, and more. Users will be able to link levels together to provide longer gameplay experiences without the breakup of going back to the Pod.

Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves

This is a brand new spin-off PSN title that showcases all of the fun that can be had when Sackboy gets his hands on the PlayStation Move motion controller. Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves contains a brand new 10 level theme dominated by dinosaurs, where the Evil Big Rex is king. Throughout your mission you must take on challenges engineered by Terrance Dactyl – and you’re going to some need help, so put on your bear skins and grab up to four friends to navigate the tough terrain of the tropical jungle dodging erupting volcanoes and other environmental hazards standing in your way.

The player with the PlayStation Move controller leads the charge, flicking switches and triggering platforms to help the other players, using DualShock Controllers, through each level. Leap between Dino heads, use the Move controller to blast aside crates of bubbles, ride dinosaurs through prehistoric cities, and take to the heights of tree canopies—then team up to defeat Big Rex, all while collecting Trophies along the way.

Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves is completely standalone – it doesn’t require the original LittleBigPlanet game or LittleBigPlanet 2 to run. What you will need is one PlayStation Move controller (and the PlayStation Eye camera, of course) and at least one friend with a DualShock Controller – since it is a Move-required and multiplayer-only co-op experience. The game will also be included on the LittleBigPlanet 2 disc when it is released on January 18.

But, for everyone who’s desperate to have some motion-controlled fun with Sackboy before then, and for the new PS3 and Move owners who haven’t yet gotten acquainted with our stitched-together friend, Sackboy – Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves will be available on the PlayStation Store on December 14 for $5.99.

That’s not all though! A week earlier, on December 7, all PlayStation Plus subscribers will be able to download Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves for free! And, as an extra “thank you,” thousands of LittleBigPlanet supporters will receive Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves for free; stay tuned for more details as we get closer to December 7.

For all you Move fans, Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves is a lot of fun, but it only scratches the surface of what’s possible when PlayStation Move and LittleBigPlanet team up, so keep an eye out for more updates after the release of LittleBigPlanet 2.

LittleBigPlanet 2 Story Mode Demo

Now for some more great news…there will be a LittleBigPlanet 2 PSN demo coming your way on December 21! This demo will give everyone a taste of the new Story Mode in LittleBigPlanet 2, along with our new gameplay mechanics – including CREATE! Swing from different objects with the Grapple Hook, rescue helpless Sackbots, and experience the chaotic multiplayer fun that blows up when the competitive scoring mode is coupled with Sacboys and Sackgirls armed with the new Creatinator! The LittleBigPlanet 2 Story Mode demo will be available on the PlayStation Store on December 21, so keep an eye on the calendar.

LittleBigPlanet 2 Beta Trial

Over the past few weeks, it’s truly been astonishing to see the creations that have come out of the LittleBigPlanet 2 beta trial. In fact, SCEA/Media Molecule have been so impressed, that they are going to expand the beta trial a bit further, so in early December, a new batch of invitations will go out, including PlayStation Plus subscribers, more community contributors, and even some giveaways. Stay tuned early next month for more info!

So, to summarize all of the above…

• Early December—A new batch of beta trial invites will be sent out to PlayStation Plus members and more! (exact date tbd)
• December 7—PlayStation Plus subscribers and a big bunch of LBP supporters will get Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves for free!
• December 14—Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves will be available on the PlayStation Store for $5.99!
• December 21—LittleBigPlanet 2 demo will be available to everyone!

Key Features:

• More Than 40 New Story Levels Across Six Themes — Everything in LittleBigPlanet 2 is influenced by cultural high points in history providing an artistically reworked canvas for Sackboy to explore. All of the new levels and territories to Play fuse different historical ideas together to create fresh aesthetics that populate this new world, with themes including: Techno Renaissance, Steampunk and Cake, Neon Propaganda, Fluffy High-Tech, Designer Organic, and Hand-made Arcade.
• Four-Player Offline/Online Multiplayer — New game/scoring modes allow players to include, scoreboards, and other elements in their creations to advance the types of games possible for a four-player social/competitive multiplayer experience, including puzzle, racing/sports, and action/adventure games. Players can also make Sack-buddies with other players across the world while they Play, Create, and Share together online.
• New Gadgets — Along his adventure, Sackboy will have new tools and equipment to aid him on his journey, including a Grapple Hook for swinging across large gaps and pulling small objects towards you, Power Gloves for picking things up and throwing them, and a customizable Creatinator for Sackboy to carry that spews out anything a creator desires.
• Create Full-Scale Games — Evolved Create tools allow users to not only make better levels, but completely new games. Featuring new Controlinator abilities, players can reset the controller buttons for any object and change the rules to any level. Your vehicles and creations can behave exactly the way you want them to. LittleBigPlanet 2 can become your own handmade arcade to Create games across multiple genres— imagine racing games, flying games, shooters, puzzle games, sports, action/adventure, and more—anything you can image, you can Create.
• A.I. Sackbots — Customizable Sackbots (non player Sackboys) are interactive, programmable non player characters that bring the game to life. Customize sizing and clothing for each individual or group of Sackbots, place them in your game creations or cut scenes, dress them up, choose different behavior patterns (make them mean or friendly, safe or dangerous), and even record your own voiceovers and/or actions for them to perform.
• Cinematic cut scene Maker — A new camera system, along with cinematic tools makes it easy to Create full cut scenes, whether as stand-alone movies or cut-sequences in levels, for a more immersive and narrative experience to Play. You now have full control over camera position, movement (including tilt, zoom and shake), transitions, and timings, as well as the ability record full voice-overs for Sackboys and Sackbots that can be used in music videos, short films or even entire movies.
• New Create Materials — Players will have new base materials with a selection of Filters, dangerous Plasma to add to fire and electricity, Electrical Neon that can change color with a switch, and Holographic material to make your own HUDS, all added to the infinite amount of stickers, decorations, materials (glass, metal, sponge, polystyrene, cardboard, and rubber), bolts (springs, motor, and wobble bolts), and rods to choose from while you Create.
• New Create Tools — Multiple new gadgets are at your disposal, including a Level Link Badge to jump from level to level by simply placing a badge without going back to the 'Pod,' Global Gravity to change the effects of gravity within the whole scene, Bounce Pads to launch Sackboys and Sackbots in the air, a Smoke Machine for a smoke releasing effect, and Circuit Boards which enable creators to layout complex logic connections onto a single chip. No longer do creators have to conceal complex tangles of logic strings behind curtains, they can now simply add to a Circuit Board and hide it away. Circuit Boards can also be used to control the behavior of Sackbots.
• Stunning Visuals — LittleBigPlanet 2 utilizing a revamped graphics engine and state-of-the-art visual technologies to showcase Sackboy and his new world better than ever. Players will also be able to access the more than two million user-created levels from the original LittleBigPlanet, all which will shine due to the newly enhanced graphics engine.
• Share Easier — An enhanced Share experience will have gamers spending less time searching and more time playing the millions of levels and games created by fans around the world. With the unveil of LBP.me, a social networking website, every published online game/level will get its own webpage, so users can search/find creations while online at home/work, mark them, and have these favorites queued up and ready to Play when you return to your PS3 and sign onto PlayStation Network. Users will also be able keep an eye on what games/levels your friends are playing via activity steams, as well as link levels together to provide longer gameplay experiences without the breakup of going back to the 'Pod.'
• Backwards Compatible — LittleBigPlanet 2 players can enjoy the more than two million online community levels created with the original game, levels that will look even better when seen through our revamped graphics engine. All purchased and earned downloadable content from LittleBigPlanet can be used as well.
• Move Demo — LittleBigPlanet 2 will include a standalone, 10 level demo that supports PlayStation Move.
• Trophy Support — LittleBigPlanet 2 supports a host of fun and challenging trophies to collect along the way.