After spending a few hours with LittleBigPlanet, I thought I’d chime in with a few thoughts and impressions. When you download the beta (a special download key is required), you’ll get eased into the action through a few simple tutorials and a bit of hand holding. Within 20-30 minutes, you’ll have passed enough levels that the game will allow you to either start playing user created levels or to design your own.
When you’re ready to give level design a try, it’s best to play a few user created levels before jumping in to make your own. Not only will get great ideas, but you’ll also earn more objects to use when building your levels. The flexibility given to you to create scenarios, traps, obstacles, and fun little platforming elements is truly amazing. In fact, for the first half hour of level creation, I was almost paralyzed by overwhelming choice. Just this little exercise made me appreciate all that much more what professional level designers are able to accomplish.
So far I’ve spent far more time in other player’s worlds than in the ones that come packed in with the beta download, and I figure that’s how it will be when the retail version hits stores on October 11th. One of my favorites was called Hest (Part 2) and it had me breaking into a bank, while trying to avoid arrest and imprisonment. The level was extremely clever, and it leaves me extremely excited to see what the community is going to be capable of when this game makes its way into millions of homes.
For the most part, the actual gameplay is pretty solid, but jumping is a little floaty. The physics are great, but it would be nice if you could rely on your jumping just a bit more to bail you out. Also, there was an instance when the level didn’t reset a vital piece (a moving platform) after I died and got moved back to a checkpoint. Once that happened, it made the level impossible to finish. Hopefully by the final release these sort of issues can be addressed. Aside from those two things, however, there really isn’t much to complain about.
When LittleBigPlanet rolls out onto store shelves I figure it’s going to make a huge buzz. We’ll see videos all over YouTube, GameVideos, and all sorts of video sharing sites. Below I’ve embedded a really simple creation that shows a PS3 fan taking a jab at the 360 RROD problem. While there isn’t any gameplay in the level aside from some walking, it’s still a fun use for the LBP creation tools.
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