LittleBigPlanet Review

Written by: Darren Cartledge Posted: 31st October 2008

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We head to the LittleBigPlanet to review this PS3 wonder.

LittleBigPlanet Details:

	Adventure
	PlayStation 3
	Media Molecule
	Sony

Out Now

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LittleBigPlanet is probably one of the most anticipated games since the launch of the PlayStation 3. Some have even predicted that it will propel the Sony machine to become the leading console? This led me to wonder if this game starring little sack people could really live up to all the hype.

To put things simply LittleBigPlanet is a community focused, side scrolling platform adventure, intended to be played by multiple gamers simultaneously. The game, like most modern platform titles sees your character, a sack boy doll access the game world via a central hub or pod as it’s called in LittleBigPlanet. Your pod is used to access the various areas of LittleBigPlanet! The games main story mode, create and online modes are all easily accessible from the pod allowing you to navigate the various levels.

The pod also allows you to manage your online activity in the world of LittleBigPlanet allowing you to easily arrange games with friends, which is fairly important as certain areas of the levels can only be accessed with the help of another player, although two players can play together on the same console.

The games story mode is set across various themed levels such as The Savannah, Wedding, Metropolis and Canyons to name a few. Each level in the game is made up of stages which you have to complete in order to move on to the next level. Special challenge stages can also be unlocked that reward you with various goodies that allow you to customise your character and so on.

The games story mode is fairly short and most gamers should be able to get through it in no time at all, however it does allow for a lot of replay value as I’ve already mentioned above, the games levels feature areas that are only accessible to two or more players.

Levels themselves offer a mix of your standard platform action with a bit of puzzle solving thrown into the mix. This sounds like pretty standard stuff but LittleBigPlanet implements it brilliantly with environment manipulation, allowing you to move objects around, destroy certain blocks with explosives float away on balloons, and travel in vehicles and so on. LittleBigPlanet’s levels are also fairly varied. Some levels even feature races that require you to travel between two points within a set time in order to gain big points bonuses. As you progress through the game, the challenge on offer also steps up and new challenges seem to present themselves every time you move onto a new area. Yes you will basically be doing the same things over and over, but it’s nice when the game throws up a new challenge as you progress.

Despite being a side-scrolling platform game, levels on LittleBigPlanet do still have depth and you can move forwards and backwards in the various environments allowing you to access hidden areas and items. However, this depth system can occasionally catch you out.

As you play through the games levels you collect little glass orbs, some contain points and others contain character customisation objects, stickers and objects to use in the games create mode. Each level also has an online leader board at the end so you can replay the same level in a bid to see your name at the top.

LittleBigPlanet allows for extensive character customisation everything from the material your sack boy is made from to its outfit can be changed and there’s also a range of accessories to make him look ever more stylish, or if you please odd! These include items, such as sunglasses, fake noses and moustaches and various other bits and bobs. The options available allow you to create a truly unique looking character. However, should you feel the look of your sack boy isn’t unique enough you can change it anytime via the pop-it, which pops up in front of your sack boy and gives you access to the character customisation menu as well as your sticker collection allowing you leave your mark on any level in the game.

The pop-it also serves as your tool bag in the games create mode, giving you access to all the objects you have collected whilst playing through the games story mode.

The games create mode is extremely easy to use, you can choose to create a level from a template that allows you to customise many aspects such as the lighting, level of fog and so on. You are free to further customise the template level by adding various objects and obstacles for players to navigate. However, you are also able to create levels from scratch allowing you to create ledges of all kinds of shapes and size with ease. The games create mode is absolutely amazing and once you have constructed a level you are then able to publish it online for others to play and rate.

LittleBigPlanet also allows you to create custom soundtracks for your levels by allowing you to mix songs from the game. The sound mixer is absolutely brilliant allowing you to use certain aspects from a song as players enter an area of your level, for instance you can activate the beat at one point, ambient at another and so on.

This is where LittleBigPlanet comes into it’s own, due to the level of customisation that is on offer in the games create mode it effectively gives players access to a never ending supply of levels to play through on their own or with friends. This of course gives LittleBigPlanet an unsurpassed amount of replay value as you’re sure to find a new level you haven’t played before every time you go online.

LittleBigPlanet is pretty solid! The games controls are a little fidgety with movement controls a little on the sensitive side but other then that there doesn’t seem to be any major issues with the game. Playing online can pose one or two problems such as lag when there are a lot of players together on the same level, I also encountered difficulty connecting with other players at times. The game can also suffer with frame rate drops due to the size and the amount of things happening on some of the user created levels but its nothing too serious.

LittleBigPlanet features support for both six-axis and the recently implemented Trophy system which is a very welcome addition. However the games six-axis support seems to be nothing more then a gimmick as its only used to make your sack boy character pose in different stances.

Visually LittleBigPlanet is absolutely superb, its almost like watching a 1980’s kids TV program, everything looks so life like despite the fact you’re playing the game as a sack boy doll! You almost feel like you could reach in and pick up many of the toy like objects, it’s a very quirky look and it works brilliantly with the theme of the game.

LittleBigPlanet also features an excellent soundtrack with songs unique to each themed level in the game. The tracks featured fit perfectly and are quirky and very catchy. The games sound design is absolutely perfect! Everything from the sound effects to the music fits the world of LittleBigPlanet perfectly.

So it seems Media Molecule have pulled it off, LittleBigPlanet seems to live up to the hype, addictive gameplay, a brilliant create mode and extensive community and online play give this quirky platform adventure a huge amount of replay value unlike any other game out there. It truly is a LittleBigPlanet!