LittleBigPlanet Review
By Steve Heller
LittleBigPlanet has paved the way for creativity, accessibility and fun in a single gaming title. One of the most anticipated and talked about Playstation 3 exclusives from Media Molecule has finally hit the store shelves and into gamers hearts after what seems to have been endless delays. Does the game live up to the intense hype that has shrouded the title since it's first showing at E3 all those years ago?
LittleBigPlanet puts you in control of your very own Sackboy, a lovable character who is thrown into this "LittleBigPlanet". It is your job to jump, swing, dive and drive through the zany levels collecting orbs and collectibles until you reach the end. It’s a simple enough premise, but it is executed in such a fun and engaging way that it will keep you entertained for hours. These collectbles are often hidden in hard to reach places, or require a sticker to be placed in a specific spot to obtain them. More often than not you won't have the sticker that is required, so you will continue along through the several stages until you eventually find it, then return to that level so you can get those items. These collectibles aren't imperial to complete the game, but for those who are planning to create levels, you are going to want every object in the game at your disposal.
Story mode features a series of “Gardens” all with a theme and several levels to complete. Themes range from the Savannah to a Gothic Castle right to the Metropolis City. As you progress through each level you will collect a number of items, stickers and costumes that can be used to not only customize your loveable Sackboy but also use in the level creation tool."This feature will bring you back time and time again, encuraging you to achieve 100%.
All the story mode levels can be played with up to 4 players on the same console, and each level has a section that houses a 2 player challenge, so you will want to move through the story again with a buddy. Having said this though, the story mode doesn’t really have much of a story to it, in fact it is so loose that there might as well be no story at all. It's an interesting move, one would think that a game with outstanding visuals, accessible gameplay and a great appeal would work well with a great story. However the game works just fine with the basic plotline that the gamer is given, it keeps things simple and easy for anyone of any skill level to understand.
The next game mode is online, which will take you to a level select screen. It is here that you can search or randomly select a level that other users have created and either play through them on your own or with other people who are currently online in the LBP universe. Some of the levels are absolutely amazing, but the majority of them right now are less than average. This is what the ratings system is for - once you have played through a level, you are then asked to give it a star rating out of 5 and attach some keywords to describe the level. This system works well and as the community grows will be an integral part of separating the truly fantastic levels from everything else.
When playing online with 4 players I did manage to experience some horrendous lag. This caused me to constantly fall into a pit of fire until I eventually died and we had to restart the level. More often than not I was experiencing some serious lag issues, but hopefully this was just a teething problem and the servers will be fixed.
The final game mode is the Level Creation tool. Depending on how dedicated you are, this will give you the tools to create anything that you have seen in the LBP universe, and then some. People have created anything from a giant stunt car track to a calculator, to the replica of the Melbourne Exhibition Centre. This is a fantastic feature, and while it isn’t a selling point to the casual gamer, it houses a plethora of opportunities for those who want to dig in and get their hands dirty.
The one and major downfall in LBP is its finicky control system. Sackboy has three levels of depth he can move within the screen, foreground, middle and background. While this works well enough, sometimes you will be trying to jump onto a platform in the background and it will think you are trying to make a jump on the middle level, it’s certainly not going to ruin the game for you but it causes enough frustration for you to be annoyed. A lot of the time also jump distances will be inconsistent and you will find yourself in a world of pain. This can be attributed to the games realistic physics, but with jumping being a major function in a platforming game, it can cause you to throw your controller in frustration.
It’s the finer details that make LBP truly special, one of them being able to control Sackboy’s emotions. With some simple button presses you can make Sackboy happy, sad, angry or scared. Utilising the Six Axis tilt motion, you can also control his head and his hips, and a few more button presses you control his arms also. I’d hate to think how many hours we have wasted dancing, crying or pelvic thrusting towards our friends.
LBP looks gorgeous. It has a unique visual style that manages to look like a scrapbooking session gone wrong, while looking like the cutest and cuddliest characters have just been launched into your world. Sackboy is so detailed, and it is shown in the available emotions that he can convey. The environments are rich and full of colour, there isn’t a game out there that can compare to the graphical nuisances of LBP.
Featuring a rather casual soundtrack that fits the mood of the levels well, LBP is full of fun little sounds and music. It’s not a standout soundtrack that you could sit and listen to all day, but it fits the mood well and sounds great, especially the Savannah levels.
The game has been out for over a month now, and we have already started to see Sony releasing a bevy of downloadable content, mainly consisting of costumes for players Sackpeople. With a very active community who are starting to come to grips with the level creation tool, the next six months will be very interesting for the community. With a seemingly endless amount of levels out there for players to try, LBP offers more than enough bang for buck.
The Final Verdict
LittleBigPlanet simply offers so much depth and scope to a seemingly simple, enjoyable and fun platformer. Featuring some of the best and unique graphics we are likely to see this generation, an active community churning out levels at an alarming rate and a decent soundtrack to boot, LittleBigPlanet is sure to be a long term hit, offering something different to the masses.
Gameplay
8.5/10
Fun and accessible, offers something for every category of gamer and features some of the craziest platforming you will ever see.
Graphics
9.5/10
The amount of detail, featured with a truly unique visual style, LittleBigPlanet is a very pretty game.
Audio
8/10
A soundtrack that captures the mood of the game perfectly, it offers a decent aural experience to go with this fantastic game.
Value
9.5/10
The community structure of the Level Creation Tool will keep this game exciting and fresh for years to come, things can only get better as more people grasp their creativity.
Overall
8.8/10