LittleBigPlanet Preview

From the moment it was first revealed, LittleBigPlanet has been getting a great deal of buzz. The central character, Sackboy, is nothing more than a bit of stuffed burlap, but through the sheer genius of Media Molecule, this is a game that everyone will be talking about.

Why? Because it is, at once, one of the most creative games in terms of creating puzzles and puzzle solving, while nailing the word “endearing” with its central character. Sackboy is unlike anything you have ever seen. It (this is a non-gender specific character despite the name) can take on a variety of costumes; you can alter its mood with the D-pad and use the thumbsticks to take individual control over the arms. You want to emulate John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever? It’s entirely possible.

Sony launched a beta for the title a while ago with the release date slated for October 21. While the beta was limited in scope, it was very apparent that the game itself is an amazingly wide-open affair. The animations are amazing, the puzzles evolve and are involving and the game itself consists of levels that allow players to unlock most costume choices, stickers and other assorted objects.

The rich texturing applied to the environments truly gives the feel of real-world objects cut out and attached to cardboard cutouts to decorate the world. There is such joy in this game, and it really translates out of the cyber space of the game world and into the real world.

A daughter, who turns 14 this month, usurped the controller very soon after the game was launched, still staring and played for hours, finally coming up for air and to proclaim it was the “best video game ever.” Does she know what she is talking about? Somewhat. There are more than 1,600 games in the house that she can play with.

The early levels of the beta serve as a tutorial for what is to follow. You have a hub that serves as your home. From there you access a hanging symbol of the world and unlock scenarios. These scenarios are generally three-dimensional side-scrolling affairs, full of hidden objects to collect. You push and pull items into place to allow you to access various areas of the setting. But this is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Things will really get much better when you team up (with up to three others) and work together to solve puzzles. And players will be able to create their own puzzles and then share them, adding to the social element that will underscore this game.

 Having first looked at the game more than a year ago, it would have been easy to have all the hype that was swirling around the title lead to disappointment in actually getting hands on with no one around to try to guide the effort. It speaks very well of the game when it exceeds the hype with a tangible charming quality.

Supplementing LBP’s visual appeal is a light-hearted musical score that keeps the game upbeat. The control scheme is not only simply to learn but easy to use. The only challenge will come when trying to engage the mind to discover if there is an easier way to climb up on that puffy foliage that comprises the limb of a tree.

There is a lot of the game yet to be revealed, but as it is now, LBP is one of the more imaginative and enthralling games of the year. This could be a contender for Game of the Year honors.