PixlBit

So, like any 30something gamer, I grew up on platforming games. I have fond memories of jumping on things and collecting whatever I was told to. But as the consoles developed and expanded in their abilities, I dipped my toes into new genres of gaming and have become distracted. I've played platforming games over the past few years (Jak and Daxter, I love you!), but I don't have a solid grounding in them now.

A few years ago, the PSN offered LittleBigPlanet for download. Excited at having a free chance to play a game that I'd heard so much about, I downloaded it and then never touched it. But lo! Realizing that I have an incredible backlog of games to catch up on, I decided to play through LittleBigPlanet and see what all the past fuss was about.

A View of LittleBigPlanet

I'm sure everyone has heard of how beautiful this game is by now. There's no bit of understatement in saying it is gorgeous. Throughout the game, I felt more like someone filmed an intricate diorama crafted from yarn, cardboard and loving attention from a resourceful and industrious child.

The textures are all amazing. There were many times when I would move close to the tv just to examine the slightly frayed fabrics and the carefully creased, bent and cut pieces of materials.

To make it even harder to distinguish what is real and what is not, there are occassions where actual photos are used as part of the world.

LittleBigPlanet is a wonderfully gorgeous game and while it takes place in a world made from the collective unconscious of humanity. The look of it relies on looking like objects and items found in the real world. In doing this, it succeeds greatly.

Exploring LittleBigPlanet

Like with every other platformer, the most important things you can do in playing LBP is run and jump. Beyond that is the player's ability to solve puzzles and time his reactions accordingly. The best thing about LBP is how well it develops the player into having the necessary skills in playing the game. None of the challenges ever felt like they were suddenly pulled from someone's dreams/nightmares, as the basics of solving the puzzle or combatting the boss were introduced one or more levels previously.

The only real complaint is how landing on a jump was occassionally difficult to control. There were times when I had to repeatedly play through a segment because my landings would always result with my cute Sackboy (in a Spider-man costume I purchased on the PS Store) overstepping just enough to fall off the edge of a pit of fire, or into a shredder or into poisonous gas.

I would hope that this would be corrected for LBP2, especially since it detracted so much from my enjoyment of this otherwise fun game. LBP has solid gameplay, with a mix of basic platforming tropes and inventive physical, almost gymnastic puzzles. It's only failure is the occassional inability for Sackboy to stick his landings.

LittleBigStory

Like early platforming games, LittleBigPlanet has a flimsy story. This seems to be intentional, as the premise of the game is exploring a lighthearted dreamscape, but as someone who has embraced the growing ability of video games to tell challenging stories I was hoping for more. Sure, as a game that seems to spring from child-like wonder, challenge might not have to be present. However, very basic rescue missions could have been made more fun with risk. Enforcing this weakness/theme of LBP is the end. After a fun and difficult final boss fight, the game ends with a "Good job! Now go create your own stuff!"

This goes well with the intention of the game, as it's supposed to be an amalgamation of every player's imagination, but it felt ineffectual. I felt almost as if I was congratulated for drawing a straight line, then told to go draw a comic book.

I wasn't impressed with the bit of story provided to us in LittleBigPlanet, and while I could excuse it, I can't really ignore it. Like with the landings, I hope this is changed in the sequel.

I'm not going to tell fans of platforming games to not play this, as it is a wonderful experience and still filled with fun at nearly every moment of play, but I will warn possible players to NOT go into the game hoping to get something more than the challenge of timing your jumps accurately. LittleBigPlanet is an achievement in graphics, but it's not breaking ground in any other areas.

Grade: A-