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Little Big Planet Preview for Playstation 3 |
- Luke, Staff Writer |
| Tuesday, March 27, 2007 |
| | Title:
Little Big Planet
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System:
Playstation 3
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Genre:
Action
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Publisher:
Sony Computer Entertainment
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Developer:
Media Molecule
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Release:
Q1 2008
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Online:
Yes
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ESRB:
Rating Pending (RP)
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Every year comes, and every year the Game Developers Conference fails to deliver on any kind of intriguing gaming announcement (arguably). Despite this, the downsizing of the gaming world’s premier showcase, E3, has meant that the GDC now takes center stage over pretty much any show around. And as you’d expect, Sony took it upon themselves to give PS3 owners some good news, which has been utterly groundless recently. Coupled with the announcement of the much anticipated Home, LittleBigPlanet came as quite a shock to the audience at Sony’s GDC keynote speech.
Developed by the UK based Media Molecule, LittleBigPlanet emphasizes Sony’s thesis of the next-generation of gaming: interaction and personalization. LBP is so personalized; it doesn’t even have any levels. Instead, it is left up to the user to decide where they want to take the game. You have complete roam over what you do, and you can be sure that the game will provide endless hours of entertainment.
LBP’s main selling point is the customization you have at your fingertips. You have so much control, in fact, that you create levels yourself. The game is showcased in a 2D perspective, but with the entirety of the environment actually being 3D. You are then given a huge toolset, and from there on, it is up to you to decide what you do with this large amount of space. Of course, you won’t just be some entity looking down upon your area. Instead, you are given a single character at the start of the game. Nicknamed ‘Sackboy’, you’ll notice that aside from a few sheets of fabric in the background, there isn’t much to do. However, fiddle about with the buttons, and staggering possibilities open up to you. Controlling the right analog stick will control your arms, and the left will direct your characters movement. But LBP’s draw extends mountains beyond that, due to the game’s incredible physics, which really are a sight to behold.
As said before, you are in sole control of designing your own levels. When you receive your toolset, you are given literally hundreds of items to plot around your environment. Perhaps the most amazing thing about LBP is that all materials act like they should. Fabric will bend and distort according to the way you shape it, whilst boulders and wood based items will slowly crush and compress anything in their way. The game is entirely physics driven, and as was demonstrated at GDC, this allows you to create some quite wacky puzzles. For example, you may plant a skateboard in your level, which travels down a ramp. Of course, your character is far too small to be able to get the wheels rolling. Instead, you and three friends can jump on the skateboard, grab on to each other, and gently pull until gravity kicks in.
But say you find your created set-piece puzzle too easy and wish to change it. Instead of exiting the level, you can instantly bring up your toolbar and edit the puzzle right there and then. When you’re done, you can simply get on with the game again. It’s simple, effective, and ridiculously easy to do. The variation you could achieve by doing this is quite stunning and will help to keep the game consistently fresh.
However, the customization doesn’t end there. Your character will also be completely customizable with hundreds of items available to give him or her an extra personalized touch. You can don capes, hats, tails, and even shiny stars. Again, it is entirely up to you. You can even bring up the toolset, and apply stickers to your character. Whether you fancy a big smiley face, or bright blue eyes, your personal preferences will be catered for.
LBP isn’t just intuitive either, as it visually looks stunning both artistically and technically. The game seems to have a generalized mix of Animal Crossing and Viva Piñata. It really does look incredibly quirky, and this contributes well to the game’s unique and stylized settings. LBP isn’t devoid of flashy effects either. The textures are really impressive, and some of the lighting effects are beyond any other game I have viewed. And that includes Gears of War and the upcoming Crysis. Luckily, the game doesn’t suffer from some of the recently highlighted framerate problems a few multiplatform games have on the PS3, either. Instead, LBP runs at a smooth sixty-frames per-second.
From one showing at the GDC, LittleBigPlanet has taken the gaming world by storm with its unique look and innovative gameplay. If Media Molecule can improve upon what already looks to be a fantastic game, PS3 owners across the globe are in for a spectacular treat.
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