Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

Today LittleBigPlanet 2 hit retail after a two month delay, ensuring that nobody will remember it when it comes time to discuss Game(s) of the Year for 2011. I had an $80 Collector’s Edition on preorder with GameStop. The contents were revealed months ago – bookends, stuffed animal, game, plus some free DLC – but fans might be disappointed with at least one of the pack-ins.

The top of the box shows off the free DLC. A pile of new costumes, mostly licensed, plus some of those useless PSN avatars. The costumes (presumably made of re-usable parts in some cases) are the real draw here. A single costume sells for $1-$2 on the PlayStation Store, with multi-costume bundles going from $3 to $6 (usually four or five costumes.) So eleven of them is at least a $10 value.

It seems unlikely that those “exclusive” Jak and Daxter costumes will remain so, doesn’t it?

Inside the game box is a PSN code to download the stuff… but for some reason my GameStop receipt also provided a PSN download code. The clerk said it was for the TRON costume, but “Clu” is clearly listed on the box as part of the eleven. I guess I’ll figure that out once the Store updates for the week and makes these DLC packs available.

The stuffed animal, incidentally, is the same Sackboy plush that’s been available for eons. Normally, it retails for $10 to $12.

And it’s a good thing that we’re already up to the $80 price tag, because the supposedly-awesome-looking bookends are a drag.

Not that we were promised otherwise, but the figures on the bookends are flat stickered cardboard. If you were expecting a PVC or plastic diorama, you can keep expecting, bucko.

Take a look at the CE advertising material below. Having the final product in hand, it is clear that the bookend picture was a composited graphic. Sure, the prototype is always going to look better than the end result, but I can’t help but be let down by these cheap cutouts.

And no, the floor sections are not sculpted. That’s just flat wood with a sticker that looks like wood planking.

Like I said, if you assign a reasonable price to the DLC and doll, the bookends are pretty much a giveaway. I don’t even have shelf space for such a thing anyway. Still, SAD SACKBOY.

At least the game won’t suck.