"I can't remember the last time a level editor was so powerful, diverse and fun."

Jason's Score:

9.5

There are PlayStation 3 exclusives that I like, though truth be told, most of my favourite games in the current generation are multiplatform. So these games don't end up being much assistance in the "You should get a PlayStation 3" campaign. Today that changes. LittleBigPlanet is the first game that I'd totally, unreservedly recommend getting a PlayStation 3 for, if you haven't already got one. It's cute, it's very easy to goof around with, even during its more sophisticated tricks. It's got the same purity of fun that building sandcastles on the beach used to hold for you (or maybe still does, if that floats your boat).

In any case, the game can be quickly defined as a physics-laden platform game. You are presented with a series of levels where you run, jump, swing and race from Point A to Point B, collecting sponge, stickers and bonus items on the way, in much the way platformers have done since Pitfall. The levels make heavy use of the physics, often requiring you to roll something in place, weigh down one end of a seesaw with a block or touch off some chain reaction of falling wooden dowels or fabric balls. There are some very creative level choices here, using gimmicks like waterwheels, jetpacks and large horses with wheels. Many levels have cool tricks and most have several, like a skateboard careening downhill, or some swinging whirligig watchamacallit catapulting you through the air.

This by itself is pretty fun, though I wouldn't call it enough to make my Games of the Year list. Fortunately, it's about a quarter of the game. LittleBigPlanet comes with its own level editor, and that's where the magic happens. As you go through the single player levels, you collect stickers and other items that are used to create objects and decorations within the game. These are used to make your own custom levels.

Once upon a time, a young Will Wright was working on a game called Raid Over Bungling Bay, and he realized that he had more fun designing the environments than playing the finished game. This observation inspired him to create SimCity, and the rest is history. I get much the same feeling from LittleBigPlanet, although the editor mode isn't much different from the play mode. The game gradually unveils more and more content, including the level editor, and by the time it did I was foaming at the mouth with possibilities. The included levels are fun and well designed, but I wanted to try to make something myself.

Everything used to make the game can be accessed by players to create their own levels, plus if you have a PlayStation Eye Camera, you can even add your own stickers. This means you could plaster your face or your bathroom tiles all over the level if you really wanted to. The tools are extremely easy to use. You have to try to position and tweak things a few times before a level really behaves the way you want it to, but it's very simple to add a background, create objects, even add motorized devices. The tools are very drag-and-drop and brush-based, even though you're working with 3D objects. I'm particularly impressed at how the game's cursor is very intelligent and intuitive, easily curving and twisting so that the item you want is selected and it goes where you want it to. Not say, the item three inches to the left going where the game wants it to. It helps greatly that Media Molecule included a teach-as-you-use sort of tutorial system. If you select something you haven't used before while building your level, the game will stop to explain how to use it before you place it. Everything can be instantly tested on the fly though, making the tools extremely powerful yet so easy to use.

LittleBigPlanet is a community focused game as well. I found hopping online and trying user created levels to be just as easy as in single player, down to hooking up with other players. The creativity of some of the user levels is truly astounding. No doubt you've already heard about the calculator, Metal Gear Solid and Shadow of the Colossus levels (I'm trying to create a pinball machine level myself). Equally impressive and amusing is that some wankers are creating levels specifically designed to unlock trophies. I played one that someone had designed to grant four trophies in the space of about five seconds. Gamers = Devious.

There are flaws to LittleBigPlanet, but it's a case of the game offering so much that the problems tend to get lost. Most of the controls and movements are intuitive, but the physics can be a little floaty, causing Sackboy to overshoot a platform or skid off the edge of something when you least want him to. In multiplayer co-op, I found that if the players split up too much, the camera started to get confused and skip around a lot. And, much like SOCOM, LittleBigPlanet may be a victim of its own success. While I didn't have any failed connections, I have experienced a fair bit of lag. Hopefully, this will get sorted out soon.

Much like huge RPGs like Oblivion, LittleBigPlanet offers so much that it's easy to forget the rough spots. And I haven't even got to the presentation yet. LittleBigPlanet's audio and visuals are beautiful yet whimsical. Everything looks like it's made out of old fashioned toys, cardboard boxes and your grandma's sewing kit. The graphics are beautiful and the music ranges from mellow to playful hip hop. Meanwhile, Stephen Fry narrates the game as though he were hosting the Teletubbies. It might sound childish and I suppose it is, but it's not done in an insulting way, but rather a pleasant "come play with us" sort of way. An invitation that's just too charming to resist.

LittleBigPlanet is a great game for people with ideas of their own, but lack the skill to start programming in C. With a thriving community and a dynamic and easy set of tools, it's that rare game that's likely to only get better as time goes on.

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Bottom Line

Jason's Score:

9.5