E3 2012: First Gameplay of LittleBigPlanet Karting Promises Sack-tacular Racing (VIDEO)

Hold on to your sacks. While maintaining a firm grip on your controller, naturellement. As I celebrate your octopus-esque dexterous prowess, behold this fresh footage of the upcoming LittleBigPlanet Karting. I'll concede, there's a lot of contempt reserved for the genre, almost to a one referred to as ‘Mario Kart clones.' Nigh every mascot worthy of the moniker has unleashed one of these cartoon racers upon us over the years, including the loathed skidmark on Satan's fetid undercarriage that is the Crazy bastard Frog. Notoriety notwithstanding, there's certainly potential for something special here.

LittleBigPlanet's popularity rides largely upon the element of personalisation. The sandbox splendour of the world is almost unrivalled, with some truly remarkable worlds ripe for creation with the extensive level-editing tools. Sackboy himself, our protagonist, provides players a carte blanché for creation by his very design. Combined with this new driving aspect, it's a formula that has already yielded fantastic results in the form of ModNation Racers.

As the latter has already made plain, you don't need a hateful mascot with moronic ‘attitude' to sell such titles. I'm (begrudgingly) looking in your direction, Crazy Frog. Appalling ampihibian horror show whose lumpen genitalia had to be eradicated for proving too offensive in the ads that you are. (I'd have done it myself, with a hammer and a gleeful grin. I'd have payed handsomely for the privilege at that, with my collection of priceless jewels and everything.) Provided the 'toon ferocity is present, and a great variety of originality offered. LittleBigPlanet Karting seems poised to deliver in spades on both counts.