If LittleBigPlanet taught us anything, it was that smacking your friend in the face repeatedly and dragging him or her off the edge of a cliff is hilarious. The ability to control Sackboy's arms individually added an abundance of personality to proceedings, and wreaking havoc for fellow players was glorious fun. Of course, it helped that the rest of the game was so fantastic too, but let's be honest - giving your friend the blunt end of a frying pan was where it was at.
 

"Sometimes, I just feel like I'm surrounded by block heads"

Media Molecule understands this all too well, and if the recent demo we played at the Sony Beta Rooms is anything to go on, the developer has gone to great lengths to make sure you can agitate your friends even more in LittleBigPlanet 2. You won't be sticking to a original platforming scenario this time around, though - you'll also be blowing each other up, driving around in bumper cars, swinging from grappling hooks and, well, anything else you can dream up, apparently.

The level editor is getting a huge overhaul, giving players the opportunity to create pretty much any genre of game they can envision. No longer will budding LBP architects be confined to creating straight-forward 'get from A to B' levels - now you'll be able to churn out shooters, arcade-style minigames, puzzle games... the LittleBigPlanet world is your oyster. While the level creation tools weren't on show for this particular demo, a number of previously created multiplayer levels showed off some typical concepts we can expect to eventually see.

Crashy Bashy is a simple bumper cars arena basher. Players spawn in the middle of a circle of electricity, strapped into dodgems and ready to get their bump on. Pressing X gives a short boost of forward energy, and allows a player to push other cars towards the edges. The winner is whoever gets fried the least.

It's incredibly basic stuff, and after a single play I didn't really feel like having another go, but it gives a clear indication of the possibilities the level editor will provide. It's easy to imagine some of the more prolific level designers of the LBP community putting together something utterly awe-inspiring with these tools.

A second competitive game, called Super Block Race, had the same effect - blocks with either an X or an O fell down the screen, and the players had to hit the corresponding button on their pad to erase the blocks. Again, not really that interesting or fun, but LittleBigPlanet veterans will be itching to get their hands on these techniques and use them for something amazing.
 

Sometimes it's easier said than done

That's not to say that all the games on offer were so barebone. Rocket Funland does exactly what it says on the tin - players leap around a small level with low gravity, launching rockets at each other with the right stick and the trigger. The fast-paced action and hilarious Sackboy explosions made this one a joy to play. More importantly, however, I've played games rather similar to this before for which this concept was the entire package. Rocket Funland, on the other hand, is a quickly thrown together minigame using the in-game editor.

What I'm trying to say is, with these new tools at the community's disposal, it surely won't be long before all of the best Flash games the internet has to offer have been skilfully recreated in LittleBigPlanet 2. The possibilities are simply mind-blowing, and whether Media Molecule provide a wide range of different genre types for players to muck about with or not, there's no doubt that we'll see plenty of ingenious methods for using the tools available.

While the competitive levels gave a great insight into what we can expect, there just wasn't enough face-thwacking action for my liking. This is where the main demo level came in and really got me smiling. Named Tower of Woop, it continues the prequel's trend of brilliant level design and oozes charm and ingenuity. Springs litter the floors and walls, and the Sackboys boing around, most of the time completely out of control - but in a good way, of course.

Instead of the ability to grab, however, this particular level gives each player a grappling hook with which they can swing from ceilings and reel themselves into tight spots. Who cares about playing the game properly, though, when you can attach your hook to other players and drag them around with you. Fire the grappler at an airborne Sackboy and the two will begin to spin wildly around each other, with both players in hysterics. Reel in a player who is trying to reach a particular platform and you'll most likely start some kind of grapple war between friends. These moments of rebellious chaos are what gave LittleBigPlanet such an edge, and number 2 is about to step it up a notch.

Customisation was a huge part of the original game, with the ability to dress your Sackboy up, slap stickers all over him and paint his bod silly colours. I wasn't a huge fan of the makeover options, and barely ever changed my Sackboy's appearance, but I have a feeling I'll be doing it a lot more with LBP2. The costumes on offer in the demo were sparse, but those available were all incredibly silly and gave me a good laugh. It's also fair to assume that lots of your favourite PS3 titles will be getting their own Sackboy outfits - plus, previously bought costumes for LittleBigPlanet are bound to be downloadable for the second coming.

In a nutshell, LittleBigPlanet 2 is more of the same, but with all the best bits blown up to epic proportions. Little has changed in the looks department - the central hub and planet-based level select screens are still there, and Sackboy has kept his ragged posture. Yet fresh ideas have been mixed in with the old concept to give it a new lease of life, and all the non-platforming additions and competitive multiplayer modes are bound to keep us coming back for more. And more. And more.
 

"So... can you do The Robot?"

It's a shame that the level editor wasn't available for tinkering with, as I would have loved to delve into the inner workings and see exactly what the creation limitations are. Still, one thing is for certain - Media Molecule has another hit on its hands, and it's set to blow the original out of the water. LittleBigPlanet 2 will be released for Playstation 3 on 16th November 2010.

Most Anticipated Feature: Downloading loads of fantastic community-created levels.