LittleBig thoughts on LittleBigPlanet

Lucky LittleBig me was able to get ahold of the beta for LBP some time ago. As you might have already figured by reading the title, the purpose of this blog is to share my thoughts and opinions on this highly anticipated LittleBig PS3 title. And wow. I am LittleBig afraid that everyone who thought that 2008 was a bad year for gaming are going to eat up their words. Don't let the fact that it has taken Sony over ten years to get a proper gaming mascot bother you: Sackboy may end up going on more adventures than Mario, Sonic and Megaman combined. That is all up to how much the players are willing to create.

If there is anyone out there who have not heard about this LittleBig soon-to-be phenomenon I would first like to ask: "How can you possibly have missed it? Have you been living in a cave this past year?" Alright, to keep it short, LBP is a game that is developed by British Media Molecule for the PS3. It's a sidescrolling platforming/puzzle game that features cute rag doll characters in a lush, colorful, adorable cardboard world. But what has really gotten everybodys attention is the ability to create your own levels, based on any material used by the LittleBig developers themselves. This opens up a new dimension of nearly endless possibilities, as you probably might have seen in Screwattacks Out of the Box segment about the game. Say for example that you want to make a level consisting entirely of mustaches, like my friend did. But enough info for now, you probably know all this already.

What can I say about the level editor? It is basically what makes the game. The industry has finally caught on with what many gamers have done for years: creating their own adventures. To be able to share these adventures with others over PSN is a fascinating feature that strengthens my LittleBig theory that games will become even more integrated with community ideals in the future. And that is not to say that the developers have not done a fantastic job making their own platformer. One could say that the single player mode is merely advertisement for the possibilities of the level editor, but from what I have played I think we will see an excellent adventure. The single player mode relies a lot on the "Mario-suspense" (as I like to call it), you never know what challenge is going to be next. And as you probably already seen, the graphics and overall design is flat out adorable. While so many developers are going for a realistic look with as many polygons as possible, LBP goes in the opposite direction, neglecting any form of realism (past the physics engine of course). I am so often reminded of the platforming precision of Super Mario World, the greatest game of all time, but the sometimes unreliable controls prevents me from considering the game the true successor of the classic platformers.

Ah yes. It saddens me to say that LBP is not perfect. At least not yet, since this is only the beta. The controls can sometimes screw you over, since Sackboy seems to be a bit slippery (if you know what I mean). Sometimes you just feel that it was the games fault that you died. This is easily forgiven (if people are willing to overlook the LittleBig awful controls in games like Golden Axe then they better not ditch LBP because of this minor problem), but a shame nontheless. Also, when it comes to praising LBP some people even go as far as calling it the Super Mario Bros of this generation. I have to disagree with this. While I am pretty convinced by now that the game will bring some new LittleBig trends into the industry, it won't be able to redifine gaming the way Super Mario Bros did. Super Mario Bros is what turned a way of passing time into a lifestyle, "hardcore" gaming if you will. The game of this generation that comes closest to being "Super Mario Bros: TNG" is Super Mario Galaxy. Galaxy took everything we thought we knew about gaming and turned it all upside down, simply by bringing gravity into the mix. It dared to change the way we jump. But enough of the LittleBig Mario parallels already. LBP doesn't have to be the next Super Mario Bros. It doesn't want to. It just want to focus on making you happy and giving you a brand new creative experience.

LBP's working title was "The next big thing". It is quite understandable, as it has all the potential of really catching on. Perhaps level editing will become a standard among future platformers thanks to this LittleBig piece of heaven, who knows. But with all this potential, is it possible that LBP will become the eternal game? This question boggles my mind. It brings an uncertian fear to my heart. Will LBP become the LittleBigEmpire? Will future generations of gamers really care about the history of platformers, or gaming in general when they can create their own content? Being a vivid gamer I will always search for new gaming experiences outside of LBP, but I can't speak for future generations. I suppose only time will tell if LBP will be the game that really revives 2d platformers, or if it will be the game that kills them off for good.

In any case, you should check it out. Even if the lasting appeal is mearly three months or an eternity, the finished product will be well worth your money. I was sceptical at first, but now I am pretty convinced that this is the game that will really kickstart the sales for the LittleBig Playstation3. A new icon is born and I'm pretty sure that you don't want to miss it.