A game like no other.
| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| PlayStation 3 | 10.00 |
| Overall | 10.00 |
|
It's rare these days when a game can surprise you in ways you never thought a game can. In a generation built on improving what has been done in the past, very few games try to do something new, something bold and different. LittleBigPlanet is that type of game, the type of game that can leave a lasting impact on the industry, for what it offers has never been attempted before on consoles and overall its something we have never seen in gaming. Imagine taking a genre that was beloved by almost all but has recently been forgotten and thrusting it into modern times with state of the art graphics and online features; yet they don't stop there, they allow us to create as well. The LBP experience is something that I will never forget, the best way to review this game is to take you guys on that same journey. From the moment you boot up the game the personality and charm of LittleBigPlanet starts to shine. This is no hyperbole (and you can read many reviews which state the exact same thing), this is the most smile inducing, most lovable game I have ever played in my life. The game intro shows off Sackboy, your character throughout the game. With a few button presses you can animate your sackboy to raise its hands up in cheer, you can make him hunch down and cry, maybe you want a angry sackboy; its simple yet so effective. Everyone I show this instantly falls in love with sackboy, personally I have no idea how anyone would not have a big smile when they first control this game. One would have to hate babies, puppies, ice cream, sunlight and everything good in this world not to be charmed by LBP. It has this sort of Disney magic to it, and not just sackboy, the whole game is oozing with a sense of childlike wonder and imagination. Once you settle in and decorate your sackboy/girl to your liking you are taken to the first few levels of the story mode. The first three stages serve as a sort of tutorial to teach you the ins and outs of the gameplay. Throughout the entire tutorial you are guided by narrator Steven Fry who is funny, witty, and feels like he was born to narrate this title, the perfect fit. The core gameplay in LBP is actually as basic as they come, you can jump and grab, that's it. There are also three layers of depth to the levels, which you can switch between (more on this later). It's all powered by a physics engine so everything moves as it should. Normally a platformer this simple would be laughable this day in age but somehow Media Molecule pulled it off. A game is only as good as its level design and these guys made sure that the game is populated with levels that test your skills in a variety of ways. Each level of the story mode has a new contraption, or situation, or enemy that will surprise you. The variety in the story mode is incredible; one level you are jumping on the backs of a herd of buffalo, the next you are in a pitch-black area with a dog as your only source of light, another level has you driving around in a car. How about flying in a hot air ballon, or navigating a subway system, and I can go on and on. The story mode alone is the best 2D platformer since the two Super Mario games on the SNES. The last few stages are so brilliant that if someone told me Miyamoto designed them himself I would believe them. Plus there are so many secrets in these levels, like a Mario game there are hidden items in areas that only the most astute gamer will find. All of these levels can be played online with up to four friends, its encouraged as well cause all levels have a co-op section that can only be completed with teamwork. The replay value in these levels alone is through the roof; the crazy thing is the story mode is but a small piece of the game. The only knock on this mode is that it is a bit short; it can be beat in 5 to 6 hours, 24 main stages and many more bonus levels. The gameplay tutorial ends after the first three levels of the story mode, once complete you visit your pod for the first time. The pod is your game menu, a place you can decorate to your liking using the many objects and stickers you find in the game. From this moment on the game opens its doors to what LittleBigPlanet is really all about, an entire community at your fingertips, thousands of user levels to play, the ability to make and share your own levels, and instant updates on what all your friends are playing. It puts all other PS3 online games to shame when it comes to online features, for instance as I play my level a message may pop up that Ragnar beat so and so level, if I want to join him I press start, find him on my friend list and press join. If he accepts I am playing with him in an instant. The host is the guide, as host you choose the levels, so if you want you can tag along for the ride with a friend as host you may, how knows what he will pick next. All the basic functions are there, voice chat and text chat. Up to four players can play in one game and they can come in and out with ease. The best part of the co-op is that it really is a blast to play with others. Some user levels may not be designed for co-op so its only in those situations where it might be an issue. Most of the time playing with others is great and discovering new levels with others is a lot of fun. I especially like the end level critique, when I play with a team and it reaches the goal we all become junior game reviewers instantly praising or criticizing that level. There is a scoring system in place, there are orbs that give off points, at the end of a level you are all ranked, it adds a sense of competition but its hardly important, I have found that people rather play together, help each other out rather than try to be first place. Cool Levels is the menu option most LBP players will spend most of their time in for that is the gateway to the world of user created levels. Thousands of levels are available to play, overwhelming to be sure, to help you there is a heart system in place. If players enjoyed the level they could heart them, look for levels with the most hearts (or a good heart to play ratio) and you should be fine. Even so it's going to be hard to find the gems so your best bet is to get on forums and find recommendation threads. The level filter, the level rankings and the overall search engine for this section is an area that needs vast improvement. Way too many excellent levels are falling through the cracks and lots of crap is rising to the top. It's very hard to find anything, as there isn't a good breakdown of categories or types of levels. If you can get by this (which you can if you can if you heart a user that hearts many many levels, he can basically be your guide, like I try to do), you will find that the term endless possibilities is actually true with this game. There are levels that are basically classic platformers, basic stages there to test your gaming skills. Maybe you want a more cinematic approach, you can play a level like Azure Palace which takes you under the sea (there is no water in this game, its all done with lighting and jetpacks, amazing!) in search of a legendary sword that can kill a giant water dragon. Maybe you miss point and click adventure games, one level is a mystery story that takes place in a trap filled house, you need to use what items you find to get around. SHUMP fan, well play an entire level of Gradius, fully playable sidescrolling spaceship shooting action, this level doesn't even resemble LBP. Want to play Tetris, thats there too. Recreation of classic video game levels, its like a buffet out there, what game do you want to play? Sonic, Mario, Zelda, Mega Man, Castlevania, Metal Gear, take your pick. How about a level that plays with lighting in ways you never thought possible. Personally I have found that the best levels are original ideas that take the objects from the game and use them to create a unique style or look that looks professional and offers a great level design, something like Sackhoutte or Platformer Pandemonium. LBP is like a giant box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. Sure there are plenty of craptastic levels out there but if you know what to look for you can go hours and hours playing excellent level after excellent level. Besides the fact that many of these levels offer fantastic gameplay and level design there is a whole different way of looking at these levels that I have never experienced before. You aren't just playing something some developer that you will never talk to made, you are playing levels by people you might be friends with, or someone you talk to on forums. When you can play a level and then go online and personally tell that person "good job" it brings another level of closeness to the game, you do feel like the community is shaping this game. Also there is the creative aspect of the levels. Since we all have the same tools when you play a level you don't just play it, you find yourself breaking them down. How did he do this? What parts did he use to create that monster? There is a constant appreciation I feel when I play user levels cause I know exactly what they have to go through to make a level, I know what tools they made, so when I see something majestic it hits me on a whole other level cause I can personally relate to what this person went through to make this. This game brings down that strict barrier of developer and gamer, the devs used the exact same tools we get to use. This is not like a map editor where there are all sorts of restrictions in place as to what you can use; if you see it in the game you can do it. Nor are you just creating maps, you are creating whatever you desire, if you want to make a level that is a sitcom episode go ahead, it just has to fit in the parameters of the game. To make all these levels I described above there as to be a good system in place and thankfully there is, but create mode is the most problematic area of the game. In a game that is so polished like this one it's surprising to see the weird issues that pop up in create mode. I can kind of try to describe it but its one of those things where its better to see for yourself. Just take my word that sometimes things won't work as you want them too. The camera will be a pain. Also get used to "your shape is getting to complicated" *shudders*. Other than that create mode is definitely the best editor I have used. The tutorials (there is like an hours worth so it can get tiring) do a great job of explaining how everything works. It takes a while but before long you will feel confident enough to create something good. Patience is key here cause to make a good level it can take many many hours, my level took over 25 hours to make. I do feel like create mode makes simple things overly complicated, for instance if you want a spring you have to create one from scratch using a platform connected to a piston and hooked to a switch that is tweaked to shoot up when someone stands on it or it can raise and lower at a certain speed. The tools provided do give you a lot of freedom as evidenced by the user levels currently available, but I feel only a few will ever reach that level of create genius thankfully these people keep cranking out great levels. How much time you put into create mode is entirely up to you, if you never want to use it you can completely ignore it and play the levels others make. Those that do get inspired can give it a go, I will say that it's an addictive experience. When your level starts to come together I felt a rush of excitement, something I thought up is actually working, I can play it. Having others play and enjoy your levels is one of the best feelings I have had this gen. So it is hard but rewarding. LBP does have its issues and there is room for improvement. On the gameplay side the layer switching can be a pain. As you jump you will automatically change layers when needed, say there is a hole in one layer it will move to where you can land. Sounds nice but it becomes a hassle when there are multiple layers to choose from and the game starts to make that choice for you. Plus you will get stuck on background objects. The checkpoint system is hit and miss. There are two options a three-life checkpoint or a six-life checkpoint. Once you activate a checkpoint you have that many lives to reach the next checkpoint, if you run out of the allotted lives that checkpoint turns off so if you dont reach another its game over if you die. Its nice that this game has an old school challenge about it but some user levels have no clue how to have good checkpoint placement so their levels are almost too hard. A simple option for unlimited respawn would have been nice. Then there is the fact that LBP is a basic platformer, don't get me wrong it works for this game but I part of me would still love to have power ups or better enemy AI options. During online play there maybe the occasional hiccup where you can't join another game, or things just slow down as people come into a party. If you have paid attention to the news lately you know the string off moderation going on, thankfully this issue seems to be getting worked on. So there is room for improvement, its not this magic perfect game, its just that these minor issues are overshadowed by all that is good about this game. The graphics are just plain beautiful. Its a very colorful, stylized game that is very pleasing to the eye. I cannot praise the music enough, like the great platformers of old you will be humming so many songs within moments of hearing them. Some of the music is licensed while some songs are original scores, all fit so well into the style of LBP. In every way LBP is a technical marvel, it has an ultra slick presentation with polish up the wazoo. Including the beta, I have been playing LittleBigPlanet for about two months now. I easily have put in over 100 hours of play, I may take a break or two but I always find myself coming back for more. I find its a game that you can play for 10-15 minutes or play for 6 hours straight. It's the type of game I will be playing on and off for the rest of the generation, cause frankly I have never played anything like it. Deep down in my heart I feel this is one of the best games I have ever played, there is no question about that. That is why I give it a 10, yes it has issues, possibly more issues than any game I have ever given a 10 before but none of those games dared to be so unique. None of those games offer me the opportunity to play game developer, to finally allow us players to work with the tools the devs use to make anything you want. To every person that played a game and said I can do better, this game is for you. At the same time if you don't want to work and are happy to sit around and let others do the work you can enjoy this game just as much that way, maybe you can become a well-known LBP level reviewer. It's not just a game; it's an entire community, not in the sense of an online shooter community, more like a microcosm of the game industry where we are the creators, players and critics. Lets not forget the basis of all this, the platformer, I think its obvious but if you don't care for platformers then this game is not for you (and stop reading this and never talk to me again, you platforming hating heathen! ). But for the rest of us, for everyone that is my age that probably picked up a controller for the first time to play a platformer, this game is for you. It's a love letter for a forgotten genre, a gift to all of us fans, a gift that will keep on giving for a long time to come. Overall Score: 10 |
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Posted by Dvader Tue, 18 Nov 2008 02:42:39
Recently Spotted:
*crickets*
Platform games forgotten? What the hell am I playing than?
What?! In heaven people float and stuff, that makes for weak platforming.