Could LittleBigPlanet Live Up To The Hype?

You may have stumbled across crazed individuals rushing to get their hands on the LittleBigPlanet Beta. Video gaming websites have excitedly offered beta codes, with the stampede bringing some servers to a crawl.  I’ve had the beta for a number of days now and I’m pleased to announce that LittleBigPlanet may well be the revolutionary game it always hoped to be.

Play

Opening with the sequence above, the LittleBigPlanet Beta beams with a rare charming style that can only be enhanced by Stephen Fry’s narration. This charisma permeates into the now celebrated Sackboy/girl – your lovable digital guise.  The d-pad controls four Sackboy emotions; happiness, sadness, fear and anger – all expressible in three degrees of severity.  Motion controls join forces by controlling Sackboy’s head, or with a click of R3, his hips. Now you can grimace at your fellow Sackboy/girl and show your frustration by waving his arms independently with a press of R2 and L2 and a rotation of the analogue sticks.  Or simply slap your friend to the ground with a flick of the stick.  This expressiveness successfully creates a compelling connection between local and international players.

When it comes down to the playing itself, LittleBigPlanet doesn’t disappoint. Although early levels act as simplistic tutorials, the controls are effortless, responsive and nowhere near as floaty as videos may suggest. Variety is added to gameplay with three planes of depth, though Sackboy might become confused as to which plane you want him to jump to. Still, LittleBigPlanet appears to have everything a classic platformer needs: responsive and simple controls, deep gameplay and, perhaps a first, expressive characters.

Create

LittleBigPlanet buffs up to a brighter sheen when you venture into level creation.  Even with the beta’s limited toolset, the possibilities are already endless.  Stuffed with easy to use switches, bolts and strings, you can create any vehicle, contraption or obstacle imaginable.  Inspiration can both be garnered from the single-player levels (there will be over 50 in the full game), player made levels and your own noggin.  Stephen Fry’s tutorials help you understand each tools function (apart from the ‘spring bolt’ tutorial which sees Fry adopt Japanese), but in the end, trial and error will be your most valuable instrument.

In truth, the options can be daunting at first, but once you embed yourself in creativity, your mind and LittleBigPlnaet intertwine.  Here is where Media Molecule’s game could become a veritable revolution.  It successfully hones into the artistic part of you that lets you improvise solutions and mould creations that work to your satisfaction.  Usually limited to the Arts, or those lucky enough to be employed to create, LittleBigPlanet empowers everyday console owners to experiment – and the host of user created levels in the beta are testament to that.

This isn’t to say there aren’t problems with creation in the beta.  For instance, when you’re given the ability to stick and unstick items, there are times when more than one item comes unstuck, leaving your creation to tumble and fall.  Often your level will overheat as it grows, causing pieces to disappear under the strain.  If this instability is present in the final games it could easily deter many wanting to create the epic levels we’re so looking forward to.

Share

Though often plagued by lag in the beta, sharing the experience with four other players works a charm. Co-operation joined with a competitive streak to grab the most bubbles (LittleBigPlanet’s currency) is a unique proposition, but one that succeeds between both friends and strangers. Then again, if another player doesn’t play ball, you could always show your anger by giving ‘em a slap and covering them with googly eyes.

The community has certainly been one of Media Molecule’s priorities. Being able to share your creations with other sackboys and girls, you’ll be hoping your level will be highly rated and become encrusted with a bunch of positive comments. Though not available in the beta, you will also be able to vote using a 5-star rating system, akin to youtube, all helping the community discover the very best levels.

And the quality and quantity of the creations has improved day upon day, with creators sharing their contraptions for other sackboys to use themselves.  It’s almost a revelation to experience the multitude of concepts being visualised on screen, so to give you an idea of the vastness of LittleBigPlanet we will be posting our top ten Beta levels later in the week.

There’s huge potential for LittleBigPlanet to surpass our expectations.  The Beta has already proven to be enchanting and even awe inspiring, with the easy to use tools creating dragons, calculators, rocket cars, and much more. Entertaining gameplay, a lovable mascot, and endless levels to enjoy with your friends – LittleBigPlanet could stir up an inspirational storm when it launches on October 24th.

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