If I was 14 I would think that Little Big Planet was the stupidest thing in the world. If I was 8 I would love it. I’m 27 and I think it’s one of the best things to hit this generation of console’s since… well, since Metal Gear Solid 4, but other than MGS4 nothing has it beat. Why? Well, in case the media hasn’t shoved it down your throat yet (or you’re one of the many, many readers that don’t admit to loving video games), Little Big Planet is adorable, it’s girlfriend/wife ready, it’s kid ready and it’s some of the best fun playing a game you’ll have all year.
In description, the game is nothing more than a platformer, you run and jump and grab things. But the design of the game is what carries it over the edge. The entire world is created with fabrics and stitches, cardboard and sharpies, and it looks like a massive art-school student’s final diarama project.
But we’re still not to the part that makes Little Big Planet stand out from the rest. The kicker, the big deal, the shabang is the user-created levels. Hundreds of thousands of levels are already up and available to play online, with a friend or by yourself. The developer’s integrated a full-blown level creation system into the game — something that PC users have had for years with mod’s and source codes — but this is the first time it has hit hard on a console system. Feeling a bit creatively stifled? Or perhaps you just work better as a team? Get your friends together not only just to play, but to create. We’ve all heard of the collective conscious, but a collective creative element is simply unheard of on a console system. If creating your own level sounds a bit too complicated for your taste, or perhaps you’ll argue that you’re “just not that creative” LBP has an answer: Play through the game. By the time you’ve finished the game you are aware of how each lever and pulley works, your creative juices are flowing and lightbulps are exploding over your head. Or not, and that’s okay too, you can rock every one else’s levels any time, and there are hundreds of thousands of them to dig through.
Hardcore platformer dudes will argue that the game’s spotty control scheme might turn off those that spent hours getting through Mario as quickly as possible, but the other side of the argument is that LBP didn’t settle on predetermined physics to base their game. Argue away about the precision of your sackboy, but you can’t argue with the amount of fun you’ll have pulling down a felt cloud or riding high on a piece of cloth attached to some wings.
In the end, it’s difficult to explain all the things that make this game great, but if you’ve had doubts put Little Big Planet on at a party and watch as everyone gathers around the TV, helping each through levels, wanting to get a shot, and gracefully asking, “how much does one of these PS3 things cost anyway?”
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