Console - PS3
Genre - Platformer
Published by - Sony
Developed by - Media Molecule
Rel. Date - 10.28.08
Off the top of my head, I can name three things I would consider just plain cute:
- A newborn kitten
- George Clooney’s interpretation of Batman
- A Sackboy
Did you pause at number three? Perhaps it’s because you have not yet been subjected to the extreme “Awww!”-inducing delightfulness of LittleBigPlanet’s heroic main character, the Sackboy (or Sackgirl, depending on how you customize the happy little thing). Who would have thought that controlling a tiny doll made of sackcloth and stuffing would be fun for anyone over the age of seven? Pffh. Not me.
The LittleBigPlanet environment is a world of colors, imagination, and creativity. Level themes vary from the Old West to Japanese gardens to spooky haunted houses (complete with scary, yet somehow adorable ghosts). LBP is your classic platform-to-platform hopping game where you scavenge to find orbs (yes, another game with orbs) rewarding you with stickers, clothing, and different Sackboy materials along the way.
What truly makes this whimsical platformer so impressive is the overall presentation. The charming, uplifting soundtrack is just as unique as the game it accompanies, and serves as the perfect finishing touch for each colorful stage. The world of LBP is completely interactive, allowing you to drag and topple just about anything you can get your little sack-hands on - not to mention your ability to paste all sorts of stickers and objects on literally everything.
TIP: If you play this game with a friend, they will TOTALLY love it if you paste donkey tails all over their Sack-person and proceed to laugh heartily as they scuttle about looking like a living wig of dreadlocks. Also, be sure to smack them in the face a couple of times for good measure. (Their character, not them.)
The player not only has the ability to change the material and clothing of their lovable Sackboy, but one of the best features in the game is the ability to create a level. That’s right. The game never ends! Just when you think you’ve completed each pre-set stage and are ready to head over to GameStop™ to trade it in toward Prince of Persia, stop! Let your imagination soar by taking each piece of building material you find throughout the game and using it to create your own personalized level for your Sackboy to explore. You can even go online and experience other fan-made levels.
There isn’t a lot to criticize in this game, but if I HAVE to…
The controls for rotating, resizing, placing, and changing the color of the building materials in the level creator are confusing at first, but they are pretty intuitive once you get the hang of it. On a personal note, I wish the Sack-people could jump higher. This is not surprising coming from me, since I am never satisfied with the height of my characters leaps until I find them hanging out on Mars after just a feather-tap on the jump button.
It doesn’t matter if you are a chocolate milk-guzzling six-year-old or a bill-paying, home-buying, IRS-hating adult member of society, this game makes you feel like a kid again. Unless you are already a kid. Then it makes you feel exactly as you are, only with superpowers. I don’t know that firsthand, but I’d say it’s a pretty good assumption.