The only downloadable content packs that we unfortunately couldn’t give prices and release dates for at that stage were the Toy Story ones. That’s all changed now however, as Fred Dutton from eurogamer.net reports that the developer Media Molecule has just announced that the Toy Story DLC packs will be arriving this week. The new level kit – which costs £4.79/€5.99 – will be available to download from August 3rd.

Not only will the upcoming level kit provide players with 9 brand new Toy Story-themed levels (two cut scenes, two mini-levels and five levels), it also contains two new music tracks, 149 stickers, ten decorations, 6 objects, five materials, one new interactive music track and one brand new level background. The new Toy Story costume pack will be available to download the same day.

The costume pack – which is also priced up at £4.79/€5.99 – includes Rex claws, Rex body, Rex skin and Rex head; Buzz Lightyear gloves, helmet, body, teeth and legs; Hamm head, body and skin and Slinky Dog feet, hands, ears, nose, skin, tail and body. You also have the option of buying the individual character costume packs separately for £1.59/€1.99 each.

There’s been some great downloadable content released for the LittleBigPlanet series since the original game was first launched back in 2008. You can view all the available DLC – which includes a Tron: Evolution mini-pack, Cats costume pack, Heavy Rain costume kit, MotorStorm: Apocalypse mini-pack and a Marvel level kit – over on the official littlebigplanet.com website.

Will you be buying the Toy Story level kit or costume pack?

According to Eric Levine (SCEA PR Manager) over on the blog.us.playstation.com website, the forthcoming downloadable content includes the FINAL FANTASY VII, inFAMOUS 2, Killzone 3 and Toy Story costume packs. The first DLC pack to be released this week is the inFAMOUS 2 mini-pack, which costs just $2.99 and includes costumes for Good Cole and Bad Cole, as well as a bunch of new stickers.

Those who would like to purchase the upcoming FINAL FANTASY VII pack will be pleased to know that it is due to arrive on the PlayStation Store on July 13th. This DLC pack will cost a little more at $5.99, but does include the Sephiroth, Cloud, Tifa and Aeris costumes, as well as a bonus Vincent costume. You do however have the option of buying the first four costumes individually for $1.99 each.

The Killzone 3 mini-pack on the other hand is due to arrive on July 20th, and will be priced up at $2.99. This pack not only provides players with the Hazmat Trooper and Rico costumes, it also contains new stickers. There will be a total of 3 new Toy Story DLC costume packs released (although we don’t know when at this stage), as well as a new level pack containing brand new Toy Story-themed levels for fans to play through.

In other news, LittleBigPlanet fans began voicing their concerns recently, after they discovered that the developer Media Molecule was planning on stepping away from the hugely popular franchise. While speaking with Edge Magazine at the 2011 GameLab Conference, executive producer Siobhan Reddy said that the developer is stepping away from LBP to concentrate on some new ideas.

As Jonathan Leack at playstationlifestyle.net notes, Media Molecule were quick to respond to the feedback from fans, by posting a message on their Twitter feed to reassure fans that they will always be involved with the LittleBigPlanet franchise. They also mentioned that a lot more fun is to be had with the game, which of course includes the much-anticipated PlayStation Move patch.

What do you think Media Molecule’s next project will be?

As Adam Wolfe over at playstationlifestyle.net recently noted, you would have thought the developer would have learned their lesson, considering the same issue occurred with the first game. When trying to get online to play with friends, gamers are being met with a constant loading screen.

Some PlayStation 3 gamers were even left waiting for well over 10 minutes, meaning that it’s almost impossible to play any levels online. However, according to Media Molecule’s Twitter page, they have addressed the issue and are currently working on a fix.

The developer’s Twitter page also addressed another problem that some PS3 users appear to have been experiencing. “Big craft earth stuck in your Pod?” was the question Media Molecule asked, according to Fred Dutton over at eurogamer.net.

The way the developer said to get around the problem is to quit the game and log out of PSN. Once you have done that you have to restart the game and log back into your PSN account. Have you been experiencing any other problems with the LittleBigPlanet 2 game?

Now it appears that Media Molecule’s sequel, LittleBigPlanet 2, is heading in exactly the same direction. Although the game hasn’t quite made it onto the shelves yet, it hasn’t stopped the first few reviews being released and let’s just say they show some pretty impressive ratings.

The first review I come across is from Greg Miller over at uk.ps3.ign.com, who has given the game a really impressive 9.0 out of 10. Although he admits that the game does have a few nagging issues, Greg did continue on to say that it won’t actually ruin the LittleBigPlanet 2 experience at all.

While the story may not be as engaging as Greg had hoped, it appears that the exciting levels and the great gameplay kind of makes up for it. The next review I read is from Simon Parkin over at eurogamer.net, who also gave the game a score of 9.0 out of 10, describing the levels as exceptional.

Meanwhile, Nick Jones from ps3.nowgamer.com gave the LBP2 game a perfect score of 10/10. It’s the game’s new creation tools that seem to have impressed this reviewer. With so many new and game changing creation tools to choose from, Nick claims that you won’t know where to start.

The final review I came across – which gives LBP2 a rating of 9.4 out of 10 is on the computerandvideogames.com website. The story mode in this game is said to be more charming and better paced than the original, with no two levels forcing you to do the same thing.

You can read the full reviews via the links above. Let us know what you think of the game once you have purchased it and played it.

As recently reported by George over at conflictinggamers.com, if you pre-order the Standard Edition of LittleBigPlanet 2 from the Amazon.com website ($57.99), you gain access to the Amazon exclusive “Ratchet & Clank” Sackboy outfits and the “Even More Animals” costumes.

Amazon is also offering a Collector’s Edition of LittleBigPlanet 2 for $79.99, although there doesn’t appear to be any pre-order bonus for this edition. Gamestop.com is also offering both the Standard and Collector’s Editions of the game, with prices of $59.99 and $79.99 respectively.

If you pre-order the game from GameStop, you receive a PlayStation Network voucher for the exclusive “Clu” Sackboy costume from Disney’s TRON: Legacy movie, and the “Even More Animals” costumes. You can also pre-order the Standard or Collector’s Editions from Walmart.com.

By pre-ordering the LittleBigPlanet 2 game from walmart.com, gamers will receive a PSN voucher for the exclusive “The Great Gonzo” Sackboy costume from The Muppets TV show. The Walmart pre-order bonus will also include the “Even More Animals” costumes.

Newegg.com may not be offering any bonus for pre-ordering the LittleBigPlanet 2 title, but it does appear to have the best deal at $56.96 for the Standard Edition. Have you pre-ordered your copy yet? If not, which retailer will you be pre-ordering the game from?

If you haven’t already had a chance to see the game in action, you may want to download the recently released demo.

If you’re not happy with the amount of information you’ve already heard about the LBP 2 game, then you are in luck as the developer has decided to treat fans to a few more details. As Adam Wolfe reports at playstationlifestyle.net, Media Molecule has recently released a brand new trailer.

The trailer in question shows off the game’s brand new Music Sequencer feature, which allows gamers to create their very own music for each level. There are plenty of instruments to use as well and according to a post on the US PS Blog; players can even link in-game objects to their custom tunes.

You can view the trailer for the Music Sequencer below this post. What do you think of the new feature, and will you be buying the LittleBigPlanet 2 game?