Toumani Diabate, sent info to MTV multiplayer about his “controversial” track.

“They note the complication that there is no explicit rule in Islam prohibiting a song like Diabate’s.”

Delayed for no explicit reason?! I’m not sure this is very comforting. At least he explains his reasoning behind the song I will never hear in game, and that is something all the news about its removal has left out.

Computer and Video Games gave it a 9.6/10.0 review. They’ve got an “exclusive” video which showcases a scorefest run-from-the-big-monster race. During the rocking track with a haunted mood and some cool guitar riffs, I found the moving spawn point particularly noteworthy. They describe the game as being 3-4 levels in each of the 8 worlds with 1-2 bonus keys “in each level”, which amounts to over 50 levels. All with plenty of secrets, and some backtracking once you’ve unlocked stickers/etc. They give it amazing praise, and the only real complaint they mention is that 4 player can be a little crowded or difficult (depending on the level). “PS3’s best game? Yup.”

Gameplayer also reviewed it with a 10/10! LBP is, as they describe, “like LEGO (the blocks, not the game), it’s like Monopoly, it’s timeless… it’s lightning in a bottle”. They give a pretty acceptable description about how enthralling the game is for gamer and non-gamer (gamer’s girlfriend) at first touch. “You can’t not have fun with this game - it’s un-possible.”
Dislikes: Planeshifting, Tutorials; Likes: Co-op, creative potential, the sims

Total Video Games gives it a 10/10. They don’t like the control “niggles” (again people complain about their inability to jump between planes), the overwhelming tools (even though they love the creativity), and the need to own a ps3.

Still nothing below a 90/100. Metacritic still has the wide range of reviews aggregated.

I normally hate game reviews. There can be some useful information in them, but on the whole they are usually less than informative, and since they always use the same criteria across every genre it throws the entire scale out of order. Not to mention some reviews are directly related to endorsement, sales, or maintaining a business relationship.

In an attempt to put aside my differences (and out of a pure and just love for everything LBP), I sat down to watch the IGN video review. Many good points were made, and while the true freedom and depth of the game (such as the astounding possibilities of the creator, and the depth/length/presentation/creativity of story mode) was possibly overshadowed by the few gripes described (creator can be finicky with detach bug, issues with tags, real physics making controls not as tight Super Mario), they had a lot of good things to say.

9.5/10 is nothing to complain about. 10 points for presentation seems very fitting, and 9.5 across the rest of the board means that, yes, this game is indeed more awesome than it even looks. Many of the complaints the reviewer even had were brushed off as extremely minor. They even hail that the game would be good and complete without a creator. The awesome unseen footage of story levels has me ready to agree.

For those of you not in the US, eurogamer also gave them a (9/10) review.

Metacritic lists a few other reviews.

In simple terms (too long didn’t read): ignore the reviews and pre-order LBP then play, create, share. If you pre-order, some stores are doing midnight release, check with your local retailer.