Developer: Media Molecule
Publisher: Sony
Media Molecule has made its debut on the Playstation 3 with platformer Little Big Planet.
Graphics
The graphics in Little Big planet are shiny and clean, on par with every other next gen game on the market.
Audio
Actor Stephen Fry has done a fantastic job as narrator in Little Big Planet. His dry, British sense of humour really takes the voice acting to another level. The sound track sets the mood for each level.
Game Play
The minute Little Big Planet loads up you’re introduced to a lovable character named Sackboy. From here the tutorials teach you how to use the controls as well as how to use the six axis capabilities in the game. The D pad controls facial expressions while the pitch and tilt of the controller make Sackboy perform a variety of humorous expressions. You can also control Sackboy’s arms individually with the L2 and R2 buttons in conjunction with the left and right analog sticks. After the tutorials you are brought to your pod, an enhanced menu screen from which you choose which levels to play, download or create. You can decorate your pod as well as Sackboy by either downloading free or paid DLC from the PSN store or by unlocking clothing and accessories in the single player campaign.
The single player story mode is very short at 35 levels. Sure, that may sound like a lot of levels but they aren’t terribly long. That being said, the puzzles are very fun to solve and each level is unique. You should be able to breeze through the single player campaign in 6 to 7 hours; longer if you go for full completion. In each level you can find and unlock various objects, stickers and decorations which are then available to you when designing your own level. After beating the single player campaign the real fun begins: level creation. While I have not yet posted my own levels online to share with the world, I have started to play with the massive tool set provided. I’ve created some small levels and I am impressed with the versatility offered. I’ve downloaded some levels created by other users and all I can say is that the creativity is unbelievable. My favourite so far might have to be the Wipe-Out HD remake. That being said, don’t expect levels like this to be around for too long. Mm is now cracking down on copyrighted content in level design. With the endless possibilities, I would love to see some sort of Hockey or sports level created. They probably already exist, but I haven’t found them yet. I was really looking forward to online co-op level creation, but it is currently not available. This is sort of a letdown as this feature was one of my most anticipated in LBP. Hopefully they will patch in this feature soon!
Conclusion
If you’ve always sought to create your own game but lacked the know-how, Little Big Planet is the game for you. It will help you harness your creativity to design your own masterpieces which can then be shared with the world. There are only thirty-five levels in the single player campaign but, as mentioned, the true replay ability in this game lies in creating your own levels and downloading levels created by other users. The controls are not as tight as they should be and could be tweaked. Only time will tell how long this game will truly last. However, ‘teh good’ outweighs ‘teh bad’. Therefore, if you have a PS3 you need to buy this game. If you don’t have a PS3, well then Little Big Planet gives you a reason to buy one!
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