Five things you didn't know about 'LittleBigPlanet 2'

Sony's sequel to the quirky LittleBigPlanet is around the corner -- due out January 18 for the PlayStation 3 -- and fans of the franchise are probably well aware Sackboy has a new bag of tricks up his burlap sleeve.

But to hear more about what to expect from LittleBigPlanet 2, we prodded Alex Evans, co-founder and technical director on the game at Media Molecule.

Foreign nonsense. The gibberish voices of the characters that appear in LittleBigPlanet 2's story levels had to be localized into 16 different languages so that they matched the actors' voices in the cut-scenes.

Happy hunting. There are not one but two hidden Easter Eggs in LittleBigPlanet 2, which could be found in the levels "Sharp Shooting" and "Lift Off."

More secrets. Some levels have a special secret path through them that can be unlocked by activating a sticker switch when replaying them.

Lucky ducks. Two members of Media Molecule's design team were plucked straight from the LittleBigPlanet community; their levels were so amazing the company simply had to hire them to work on LBP2.

Storytime. There are more than 40 new story levels across six themes in LBP2 -- people may know that, but what I don't think everyone knows is that each theme is influenced by cultural high points in history, providing an artistically reworked canvas for Sackboy to explore. This includes Techno Renaissance, Steampunk and Cake, Neon Propaganda, Fluffy High-Tech, Designer Organic and Hand-made Arcade.

By Marc Saltzman