LittleBigPlanet

For the longest time, PS3 owners have been developing an inferiority complex. Having bought the most expensive, highest powered and arguably the best value current-gen console on the market, they have been faced with the simple fact that the amount of games that it can play exclusively is pitiful and the cross platform titles are almost always inferior to the 360 versions. Having lost GTA4’s exclusivity and the fact that MGS4’s launch seems like a distant memory, PS3 gamers have been looking desperately for a game which can hold their attention, work well online and provide a whole heap of fun. Little Big Planet is that game.

Visually, the game is fantastic. Bright friendly colours plaster the screen, with stylised cardboard cut-outs being used as foreground and background objects (reminiscent of Paper Mario). High-res textures and goofy characters bring the landscape to life, providing a breath of fresh air compared to the gritty, bloody shooters which plague the market today. Sack Boy’s appearance can be customised dramatically- you can change his materials, clothes, accessories, eyes and teeth in-game in real time, which, alongside the facial emotions placed onto the directional pad, provides you with the basic elements needed to give sack boy a unique personality.

A similar level of quality can be seen in the audio department- catchy tunes are abundant in the game, many of which will be stuck in your head for days after playing. High definition sound effects sound great, although the distances from which you can and can’t hear an object’s noise seems to be a bit wonky- there have been some times where I have been standing close to an object which isn’t making a sound, but could still hear the same type of object off screen. The lack of a customizable soundtrack is regrettable but is ultimately forgiven.

Despite there being no real voice acting for the game’s characters (besides animal, vehicle and some damned creepy samples), the game saves itself by providing a stellar voice over from Stephen Fry. Fry provides a huge amount of voice work, all of which is cleverly written and masterly performed. Fry’s voice is perfect for the game- his friendly, slightly mad manner is incorporated well into Sack Boy’s insane, beautiful world.

For those without an internet connection, only two thirds of the game is actually accessible. The story levels provide a decent level of challenge as the player moves through different environments, complete with ingenious contraptions and puzzles. If you were to buy the game and only play this mode however, you’re missing the point of LBP. Despite being called story mode, the single player experience actually has no coherent plot- well, nothing to bother taking notice of anyway. You will find the occasional cardboard cut-out character spurts out dialogue, but you will lose nothing from the game experience if you just close the speech bubbles instantly- the characters only exist as an excuse to move you onto the next level. The incentive of gaining trophies is enough for most people to go through the story mode, with a bronze trophy being given every level ‘theme’ for making progress.

In each environment theme there are literally hundreds of item pick ups, all of which are recorded and logged onto your save data. You will spend a long time with this game if you want to 100% it. On some levels it is impossible to go through and get everything in one or even two passes, meaning playing through it multiple times is a must. There is so much crap in this game that you can collect- and you will want to collect it ALL. The gameplay improves drastically when you chuck a few friends in, either through local play or online. Certain puzzles require up to 3 other players in order to complete emphasizing co-operation, yet the temptation of point bubbles will ensure rivalry. Hilarious chaos not seen since Zelda: Four Swords ensues. One other neat touch is that a player’s Sack Boy’s mouth syncs with their headset- bring on the machinima!

You can put the shit you have collected to good use in the level creator- an extensive yet intuitive tool which allows you to create anything, provided it works on the 2.5D plane. All the tools are explained by Fry’s sexy voice in video tutorials, meaning that even the fiddly ones are easy to get to grips with. After fiddling about in the creator for half an hour or so, it suddenly hits you- the whole story mode was created with the same tool which is now at your finger tips- AI, textures, scripted events, objectives- everything. The mind boggles at what is possible. With the promise of constantly updating elements (the MGS level pack introduced the game-changing paintball gun) LBP’s level creator isn’t something to be underestimated.

This brings us onto the 3rd part of the game- sharing. Already, hundreds of thousands of players have been uploading their creations to the PSN for others to experience and rate, whether that be with friends or by going solo. Whilst everything might be perfect at first glance, controversy almost doomed LBP’s community- the deletion of levels containing copyrighted elements without warning or ability to sensor. Naturally, Sony can’t have Mario themed levels on their system for fear of the House of Miyamoto smiting them with an iron fist of justice. The deletion of things like that is understandable. What isn’t understandable, however, is Sony properties (Killzone, God of War) being banned alongside these and even levels without any copyrighted elements were banned. LUCKILY, the situation has been reversed- Media Molecule have actually been approached by several companies, requesting their properties be “white-listed”. A new system has also been introduced, allowing users to change their moderated levels to abide by the rules after banning.

The problem remains, however, that those without online play or without any interest in level creation will not get as much out of the package. Despite being an able platformer, the title’s story mode is far from the standards other titles have to offer. But despite this, those wanting to play, create and share alongside their friends can’t go far wrong with Little Big Planet.