I had a clear mission on Thursday morning. Little Big Planet, Sony’s darling crown jewel of their PSN lineup, had a packed kiosk on the show floor for the duration of E3. Even though I had an official appointment with Sony later in the day, I still wanted to get my hands on it as soon as possible. This lead to me, quite embarrassingly, camping the show floor well before it was set to open for the media. Thankfully my simple plan was a success, and I was able to land a seat and play with two other people through a few of the game’s levels.
In a way it was like the ultimate paradox – LBP was remarkably simple to pick up and play, yet had retained a complex wealth of options related to customizing the experience. At its core LBP is a basic platformer, all you can really do is move left and right (as well as in and out of the foreground) and use R1 to grab onto an assortment of different objects. This eventually lead into driving vehicles, flinging myself over walls, hitting exploding switches, and contextually doing everything from breaking out of jail and robbing a bank.
The co-op nature of the game is also an attractive dynamic. Occasionally you have to work together, which, in our case, meant using a see-saw to fling me over to the other side of a chasm to flip a switch. Once the switch was flipped, I had to drag a box over that allowed us to ascend into a secret passage of sorts, complete with all kinds of collectable points and bonus items. So, instantly, it transformed from team based goal completion to an everyman for himself point scramble. All the while, mind you, this is being complete with hilariously decorated iterations of sackboy.
Remember the mantra of that stupid movie, Jumper? Anywhere is possible? Well, in LBP, anything is possible. Half the game’s fun is found in using an outrageous amount of customizable parts (some of which have to be “found” on the game) to build your own levels. I wasn’t able to witness much of this process (just some of the 1up guys screwing around and making a funny looking mess), but it looked incredibly fun if you have enough time to really develop your particular vision.
Most of the allure of LBP is found through its unadulterated charm. Though it can easily lend itself to complexities, even the simplest level design can get by on appeal of its visual attraction. Sack boy is blessed with a variety of comical and entertaining mannerisms, which really magnetizes LBP’s already rock solid techniques of enjoying the gameplay. I probably played more LBP than any other title in Sony’s lineup and, as you’re no doubt aware, I’ve been a little nondescript in my write up. To simply put it, the amount of fun I had is directly proportional the amount of notes I took. I didn’t want to transform my time with the game into words. I realize that’s my job, but think of it as a testament to the game’s ridiculously gripping nature. Who has time to write when you’ve had so much indescribable fun playing it?
