LittleBigPlanet
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LittleBigPlanet
Sony wins the hearts of all with this unconventional platformer
Once in a while a game comes along that wins the hearts of countless gamers and becomes an instant classic. Mario, Pac-man, Sonic, and now, Sackboy. Yes you heard me correctly, I said Sackboy, the adorable little creature from Media Molecule’s new game LittleBigPlanet. The game has conquered the hearts of many ever since bits and pieces of the game showed up on the floors of gaming tradeshows. Sony is even banking on the adorable Sackboy to help it sell consoles in its desire to compete with Microsoft. What LittleBigPlanet does is truly universal because it dares to accomplish what so few games can; breaking down demographic barriers to bring all gamers into their own creative spotlight. Now that the game has finally hit stores (after a slight delay), will this be the year of the Sackboy?
Gameplay
LittleBigPlanet starts off teaching us how to control our very own Sack-boy or Sack-girl (or in my case, a Sack-kitten). Players with the SixAxis controller can wiggle their Sack-creation around with head nods and butt wiggles – everything that makes LBP drip with cuteness. The directional pad gives a variety of emotions from a lip-sobbing cry, seam-popping anger, eye-wiggling anxiety and tongue-wagging happiness. Each expression has three distinct levels, for example you can simply smile, choose to give an open-mouth grin or let that tongue hang out in pure tail-wagging happiness (if your Sack-creature had a tail that is, but don’t worry you can get one later on). Don’t forget the L2 and R2 buttons; these are how you instantly get control of your Sack-person’s arms. Using both control sticks with these two bumper controls held down will allow you to move your arms in any direction your heart desires. Feel like doing the wave? Or maybe you’d like to flag in a 747 jetliner. Either way there’s no limit to what your Sack-puppet can look like or do and the game stars out with several options to make your Sack-creation into the very expression of yourself.
Now that you have your very own little Sack-person, it’s time to jump into the game. You’ll start off with the only option available to you and that is the story mode. The first three levels give you a good solid understanding of how the game is played with a control scheme that is kept simple (X is for jump and R1 grabs onto things). Sure it may be possible to run through the entire game in about five or six hours; but you’d miss out on all of the fun. In fact, the most challenging part about LBP is trying to get the tons of content cleverly hidden throughout each level. This content includes stickers, decorations, clothing and materials as well as objects used for the level editor. LBP also incorporates hard to obtain keys throughout the game. Should you happen to reach them, you’ll find that it unlocks new challenges to play. These challenges come in the form of mini-levels that have one goal but are immense fun to replay to improve score.
Multiplayer is greatly encouraged on nearly every level with some content requiring two, sometimes three or four players to unlock. Getting into a multiplayer game is as simple as choosing “Play Online” at the start of each level. Before you know it you’ll be running along with other Sack-boys and Sack-girls. The user-created levels have also spawned a unique online content craze. As you create your own levels, you can choose to share them with the other players in LBP and this gives you your own little presence in the LBP world. You can also choose to play levels that have been created by others and upon completing them (or if like me, gave up on some of the more perplexing and annoyingly challenging ones), you can then rate the level giving it anywhere from one to five stars. Additionally you can also pick a keyword that helps describe the level to other players. The three words used the most will then appear when another user is choosing to play that level. Another option allows people to “heart” their favorite levels like a bookmark. Media Molecule has also built in a section where they can display some of LBP’s most creative creator’s and levels. All of this provides a rewarding Multiplayer experience that rivals no other game.
There are a few disappointing rough patches that I noticed. One gripe of mine, the control response when switching between layers in the game. LBP makes use of three different layers that fit from back to front. Your Sack-person can navigate through these layers by way of pressing Up plus X to move back a layer (towards the back), or down plus X to move forward a layer (towards the front). There were many times when despite using this correctly, my Sack-girl…or rather Sack-kitten just sat there lackadaisically looking at me like my puppy does when she’s trying hard to comprehend my non-bark-like language I seem to have developed. There are also times when the game switches you between these layers automatically, this is meant as an aid to keep you from doing this manually but when it impedes you or causes your death – it can be quite frustrating. The game also seems to have a heavy emphasis on physics which can make judging jumps difficult. Especially when you fall with more or less mass and/or inertia than it appears you should have; this also goes for trying to change your direction in mid-air. Acceleration can also be an issue at times, I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to pull your skateboard towards the ramp them go bouncing off the back end while Humpty-Dumpty remains firmly in place. I guess he was cleverly duct-taped to the sucker. But these are small gripes and don’t really impede the game play enough the game a laborious effort.
Graphics & Sound
The best part of LittleBigPlanet comes not just in the graphics (which are top notch), but rather in the creation tools. Each tool comes with tutorials and templates in case you’re a little nervous about jumping in to create some levels of your own. Each tutorial unlocks some new objects that can be used and while they don’t seem to make sense at times, you cannot unlock everything until all of these are watched. Packed into LBP is a full suite of tools that can be used to create, destroy, edit and manipulate anything you want in any way you see fit. The tools are both robust and easy to use that once you start messing around, you’ll find yourself an expert in no time. To get an idea just how powerful this editor is, just look at any of the levels within the Story mode. Anything you see there can be re-created by you in the editor.
The editor comes with several basic tools that allow you to begin with a number of basic shapes (square, circle, star, etc), from there you can attach these shapes or draw your own. Also included is a vast library of tools that help with the creation process. These objects allow you to animate your world, create puzzles, traps, or fun rides and vehicles for other users. There’s enough included within the game that you can be as inventive as you would like to be. Want to showcase your own living room? Or make a level dedicated to your family? These are all possible. You can even create your own images using the camera feature within the game and the EyeToy. In short, it doesn’t take much to go from creating simple to more complex objects. The best part is that any new object you create can be saved in your library for use again later. The truly awesome thing is any objects you create can be placed within your levels for other users to earn and they can then use your creations in their levels.
The most important part to remember about the level editor is that you can interact with your level at any time by switching between “play” and “pause”, but whatever you do will have a direct effect over the level. This means if you ride the skateboard down a big hill you created, then you will need to pick it back up and place it back at the start again. Fortunately there is an “undo” button and a “redo” button that can make simple re-placements of objects a breeze, but the more complex your level becomes, the chances you’ll want to do some experimenting.
The music within LittleBigPlanet is as loveable as the little Sack-boy or Sack-girl that you create. Each level has its own music that fits with the theme of the level. From there, it’s easy to find yourself humming the very tunes that you hear, especially if you go back to re-play levels. The sound effects are top notch and fit remarkably well into the game. The narration reminds me of a Monty Python skit and is cleverly scripted though sometimes while viewing the various tutorials levels, I wanted to get the witty banter over with so I could move on. Sound is also an option to add into your individual levels as well.
Value
The replay value for LittleBigPlanet is enormous, there are often areas that require more than one player just to get all the goodies and if you notice them while solo, they’ll require another play through to get everything available. The game also makes each level end with a score sheet, tallying up how many hidden objects were found and where you ranked on the leaderboards. Along with incentives for getting through the level without dying, these offer incentives for players to come back and try the levels again. The user created content adds more replay value as new content is being created at an alarming rate. The nice thing is, I can go to my friend’s list and look at my editor-in-chief, Jey’s profile to see what author’s he’s hearted, and then look at that author’s hearted levels and so on.
Conclusion
There’s a ton to do in LittleBigPlanet, this is one of those games that is quite literally hard to describe because it’s hard to choose what to say first about it. Between the levels provided, the complete customization, and user created levels, this is one LittleBigPlanet that will capture the hearts of millions for a very long time.
Verdict
Buy it! LittleBigPlanet may very well be the system seller that Sony is hoping for this Christmas. So if you don’t have a PS3 yet, now would be a good time to get one…then get LittleBigPlanet.Pros
+ Simple control scheme
+ Something for everyone
+ Complete self expression through customization
+ Each level distinct and unique, never repetitive
+ Multiplayer highly encouraged
+ User-created content is easily available
+ "Heart" levels and authors for future use
+ Easily see what author’s your friend’s like, and what the author likes, and so on
+ Creation Editor is easy to learn and master
+ Excellent replay value
Cons
- Control response difficulty when trying to switch between layers
- Objects sometimes accelerate faster than your Sack-person
Final Verdict
Here's a small guide to help you understand our evaluation of games.
PRESENTATION GRADE
Can be from the game's box to the contents of the booklet, and even the game introduction. (Intro, menus, options, etc)
GRAPHIC GRADE
Up to what point the graphics have been worked on my the developper. The design type, the effort used for textures and environments, as well as animations and framerate.
AUDIO GRADE
Is the soundtrack a good match to the game's style, he ambient sounds keeping with the gameplay and the sound effects clear and convincing?
GAMEPLAY GRADE
Placement of the controls and the inferface that the player with be using during the game.
REPLAY VALUE GRADE
The most important factor in the evaluation of a game. It identifies the lifespan of the game and the fun of coming back again and again.
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