LittleBigPlanet for Playstation 3: Review

Just about a year ago Playstation 3 owners were given the gift of LittleBigPlanet (yeah it's suppose to be one world) a brand new family friend platformer made by Media Molecule a new video game developer in England. In this game you take on the role of Sack Boy or Sack Girl as you engage in a classic Super Mario style platforming adventure.

In the game you play as Sack Boy a fully customizable character that you use to navigate tru the sack planet completing the goals of every stage leader. LittleBigPlaent (LBP) is a platformer which means you start every stage at point A and the goal is to get to point B without losing all your lives. The great thing is that every stage has enough variability that you don't really mind playing that level over again to get the rest of those collectibles, and some levels have special paths that can only be completed with multiple players encouraging not forcing multiplayer use. The main game will take about six to eight hours of hopping in order to complete but that is only the beginning.

The real charm of LittleBigPlanet is the potential that the game may never really end. The highlight feature of LBP is its level creation mode that will allow you the take on the role as a game developer and design your own levels to play threw. Now the level editor is pretty easy to pick up and learn the basics of level design but some of the more complicated features are a bit more frustrating to pull off, but don't worry the level creator's tutorials are wonderfully helpful and will guide threw all the finer points of the creator. But if you're the type of person that doesn't want to invest the time in making your own levels LBP allows people to publish created levels online meaning your have thousands of levels out there to hop around in for free.

And you will want to take your time while playing this title because this game it just gorgeous. Sack boy plays in a world that seems very homemade and may remind you of old school stop motion children's movies or your grade school diorama days. Media Molecule has really took their time make all the cloth, plastic, wood, and glass textures look true to life and everything has real world physics so rubber object will bounce, foam is easily moveable, and glass will realistically distort light. This game belongs in the same category as Metal Gear Solid 4 and Killzone 2 as the most graphically stunning games made for a console.

Another reason that this game should keep you entertained for the next few years is all the additional support the game is receiving by Media Molecule. The DLC catalog the game has amassed so far will give you addition costumes, and creator tools allowing the game to swell to much more that what was originally packaged in the box. Currently you should be able to find used copies at your local video game store but if you want to wait there are plans to release a "Game of the Year Edition" of LBP that will include some of the DLC release from the past year in time for the 2009 holiday season. While the DLC is not that expensive the sheer amount can add up to quite a bit of money.

I included a few screen shot of this game from the website IGN and I know what you may be thinking, "This game just seems a bit too sugary sweet for a hardcore gamer to enjoy" and while I had the same thoughts about that myself the game has enough substance that really anyone that picks up and plays will just fall in love with our bouncy little hero. All and all this is a great title for anyone that owns a Playstation 3 and is looking for an old school platformer with endless gameplay possibilities for the whole family.