Little Big Planet review (IMO)

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I managed to find the time to put a few hours (the weekend) into Little Big Planet.

I was very (very) skeptical, especially as EDGE had given it 10/10, which in my book put it on the same level as ZELDA (big shoes to fill, and so forth).

I played it, I’m in the "russian" levels if that means anything to anyone, (which I think is about 30% of the way through the game), and it is a lot of fun.

I played some more, and laughed out loud a few times. The whole time, I had this strange sense of deja vu.

Then it hit me. The game, as played thus far, is a re-wrapping of Super Mario World, and Donkey Kong Country.

Now before the flame wars commence, I’ll try and justify that statement.

I accept that all games, tend to re-use tried and tested mechanics. In this case, it takes every; moving platform, horizontal, vertical, iced floors, disappearing blocks, lava pits, bullet emitters, baddies who need to be jumped on, lights/chains that need to be grabbed and swung from, the works.

An absolute ram-raid of the Nintendo gameplay vault (Sega’s Sonic also).

So. Now that I’ve got that out in the open, what else? Well, one of the things that I really like about LBP is the physics.
Very very slick.

If secondary school teachers used this to demonstrate science/physics in year 01, (fulcrums, levers, mass, inertia, etc.), I’d imagine the numbers would increase. Or maybe that’s wishful thinking.

Self-expression opportunities are abound in this title also. I recall reading in DEVELOP magazine, that unless your title offered some form of avatar customisation, you were not likely to get funding (I’m paraphrasing). I think Media Molecule definitely took this one to the max.

The level design is slick, and well thought out, especially any that involve vehicles (again, reminiscent of the Rhino/Ostrich/Frog from Donkey Kong Country).

The art is probably the most stylised and consistent that I’ve seen yet in a game. My only issue is that it may be reinforcing stereotypes. The russian levels where I am now, feature war-factories, and bullets, and so forth. The Indian levels before that feature traditionally dressed women bending, stretching, and dancing. The Asian levels (China/Japan) feature kimonos, ninja masks, etc. The south american levels feature chilis, moustaches, and ponchos.

Haven’t made it to Ireland yet (don’t even know if it is in there), but if there’s little green boyo’s running around with pints of guinness, ginger locks, and street brawls happening in the background…I’ll…I’ll probably laugh, and then be filled with resentment…then laugh some more.

I don’t know if this is a good thing or not. Would have liked to see more originality on this side.

Overall, its a good game. Haven’t started the "My Moon" experience where you can create your own levels, (don’t really have the time), and haven’t played online yet either.

A good game, probably the de facto standard for next/current gen platformers. But 10/10???

I mean, honestly, look at the other games that have worked so hard for that 10/10.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edge_magazine#Scoring

The magazine has awarded this score to ten games:

* Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64) – E35
* Gran Turismo (Sony PlayStation) – E55
* The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64) – E66
* Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox) – E105
* Half-Life 2 (Windows PC) – E143
* Halo 3 (Xbox 360) – E181
* The Orange Box (Windows PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) – E182
* Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) – E183
* Grand Theft Auto IV (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) – E189
* LittleBigPlanet (PlayStation 3) – E195
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Well, I’ll continue to play, and let you know my thoughts.
Any of the rest of you played it, or too busy with Resistance 2 or GoW2?

B.

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

I dont have the expensive box that it needs to play on.

If its really that good, I’ll check it out in 2 years when the machine drops to a reasonable price.

/goes back to playing dead space.

[Author]

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