Growing up as a console gamer, I have come to realize that there isn’t much in the way of user generated content: real content and levels designed by inspired members of a gaming community and shared over the web. The Internet age for consoles has really just started, but the PC has been run by the web for over a decade. Sure there have been some map editors here and there, but nothing has come close to something like Garry’s Mod on Steam or even the first mod communities for games like Quake and Doom. Back in those days, with an active imagination and access to the Internet, you could be a part of some very good cool communities that manage to keep some classic games alive to this day. Nothing has come close on consoles to touching these design-focused communities until the arrival of Little Big Planet on the Playstation3. Little Big Planet is a game that appears to be a simple platformer, but it has more depth than anything I have seen since I started gaming.

This is a tough review to write because there is so much to talk about in Little Big Planet. You can really tell that the folks at Media Molecule worked very hard together on this game because it is the collaborative efforts and imaginations of that team which allows the world of Little Big Planet to exist. That is also how they explain the world to you, it’s a place created by the dreams and imaginations of all the people in our world. The firs t thing you might be thinking is that you don’t want to see what some people have going on in their imaginations! Don’t worry this game is very kid friendly, I’ve gone through pages of levels and I haven’t seen one piece of inappropriate content. I have seen some pretty incredible things though!

In the game you’re first presented with your Sackperson (I call them Sackpeople because I got yelled at for being sexist) and your Pod. Sackpeople are completely customizable characters that you can add clothing and accessories too, change their colors using stickers or defaults, and also decide what kind of mood they are in. Your Sackperson is a very interesting character as he/she can be very comical when interacting with other Sackpoeple in all of the different levels. Your Pod is your Sackperson’s method of transportation, it is a small cardboard space ship that Sackpeople use to travel from planets and moons in search of levels to play through and create. The main story levels and user created levels will all be located on the main planet that you can access at any time, while the moon is where you travel to create your own levels. I highly recommend playing the story levels first because it gives you a great feel for the gameplay and it will unlock lots of items to use in the create features.

While playing a level, one of the fist things you will notice is that the game isn’t a simple 2D platformer like Mario or Castlevania. There are three three-dimensional plains that you can jump to and walk on kind of like three steps on a set of stairs that run horizontally. These 3 plains add so much to what you can do in this game it is unbelievable. The sky is also the limit here, compared to your Sackperson you can go hundreds of feet in the air, which makes for some very interesting rocket and roller coaster levels. The sizes of the levels will vary from small to huge, and they can be anything from classic platforming levels to inventive mini games and races.

In case you’re having a hard time picturing the play style of this game I will try to explain a few of the many possibilities. In the story levels you will come across gaping holes that you have to Pitfall across, and enemies that you will have to knock out in some very inventive ways. There are driving levels and races that you can compete in against others or against a time limit. You can also expect quite a few little puzzles that will have to be solved using different objects in the environment, and other Sackpeople, to progress through to the next checkpoint. It is difficult to describe all of the different little things because I don’t think I could possibly imagine what everybody is going to make, but be ready for some unexpected gameplay mechanics that might influence your imagination.

The story levels and mini games, while fantastic, are short and sweet. They stand as more of an example of what is possible to create in Little Big Planet. What the team seems to have really focused on is creating a set of tools that allow you to design whatever it is that you can think of. Don’t think that makes the story levels meaningless though, it is a well designed way of teaching the players how to play the game while allowing them to collect objects to use in the editor. This reminds me so much of why Nintendo is such a great developer because they teach you how to do things in Mario and Zelda without forcing it upon you. Just like in most of Nintendo’s masterpieces, you will constantly be learning new methods of play and creation during your time in Little Big Planet.

Another design choice about the story levels that I have to talk about is the seamless integration of co-op. While playing through on your own it is impossible to collect all of the objects scattered throughout the levels, and while running around on your own you will discover areas that are only accessible when one or more other players have your back. These levels get a lot more fun when playing with others plus the difficulty will scale up to some pretty tough levels when you have three other people running around with you. The challenge is part of the experience when playing with others because bragging rights are always there for whoever can make those perfect jumps.

Want to start making some levels? Well start at your Pod and go straight to the moon, where all of your imagination can be let out in some very interesting ways. Before starting to create your own levels I recommend doing all of the tutorials, voiced by Stephen Fry (Harry Potter/Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Narrator), because they are all very helpful and very rewarding. Most of these tutorials are used to introduce you to your Popit (editor menu/cursor) and all of the different items and tools you can use. For each tutorial you do, you will learn a valuable pieces of creation information and receive more tools and objects to start up your masterpieces. After finishing all of the tutorials, and the story, you will be set free with a large assortment of items and tools. I had a lot of fun messing around in the creation part of the game, especially with a large crazy looking rocket ship I built launching a Sackperson on a track right into a pile of explosives. You will be rewarded for doing crazy things like this as well through the games large assortment of trophies and secrets. If you have an eye toy you can use it to get some custom stickers for your levels, an interesting way to show a photo montage to your family or friends?

While creating, the only thing that really limits you is your imagination and the amount of time you want to spend turning your ideas into reality. Trust me, time is something this game will take from you without you even noticing. I am such a perfectionist that when I get around to finally finishing the level that I truly want to make months will have passed by. The fact that I can say something like that really shows how much detail you can add to your levels. Every item and tool has multiple options so you can customize them to your needs. Rockets and wheels can be tuned to perfect that velocity so you can make certain jumps. A half dozen different activation switches can be placed to complete that puzzle or open that door. Adding sound and color couldn’t be easier, and the create tool allows you to make any shapes on any of the three plains that you want to. It’s all there and it’s up to you to figure out what you want to build first, and if nobody out there builds a Rube Goldberg machine I might have to sacrifice the next month of my life to do just that.

Creating levels is really fun, but most of my time in LBP is being spent playing other people’s levels. People can make some really amazing and fun little mini games, but they are also capable of making some pretty terrible ones to. I found one really cool Batman: The Animated Series level where you had to defeat all of the villains from the show in Arkham Asylum. Then there are some pretty bad levels that try to focus on other games or movies that just don’t play well in the platforming genre. There are some pretty creative levels that don’t involve any actual play either, like the music levels that use piano notes to create themes and original songs. One particular example was a Metal Gear Solid theme level where after you flick a switch balls drop onto keys that create the melody from the game (very, very cool).

If you have ever been to one of those old fashioned toy stores, the ones with the rocking horses and giant blocks, then you should get an idea as to the visual style of Little Big Planet. The style varies from story to user created levels, but for a video game it provides good sense of uniqueness. The levels are all colorful and different with ranging themes, and while sometimes odd they never seem out of place. The music is very lighthearted and comical which goes very well with the levels and the Sackpeople in them. In fact I find the whole game provides a great sense of joy and lightheartedness that most games try to stray from. This could be because Little Big Planet is meant for a younger audience, but personally I think it’s meant for people who simply love to play games and share the experience with others.

This game will be supported by the community for a long time, and hopefully Media Molecule will back its creation up as well. While I am still playing Little Big Planet now, I will eventually slow down. The beautiful thing about the game however, is the fact that I will be able to come back to it and find 10 times the fresh content waiting to be devoured. This is one of those few games, and the only console game, that has unlimited potential to be its own platform. There will be communities based around this game, more tutorials for creating complex objects going up online and hopefully some new tools and materials for download on the Playstation Store. Out of all the games that are coming out this holiday, Little Big Planet stands alone as an experience that has never been had before in the console space and I highly recommend it to PS3 and non-PS3 owners.

By Evan Doran