Review | LittleBigPlanet
Format: PSP | Genre: Platformer | Publisher: Sony | Developer: Sony | Release date: 20/11/09 | RRP: £24.99
By Jennifer Allen
Simple yet intricate. It may seem oxymoronic, but this statement sums up LittleBigPlanet perfectly.
So many platformers in recent years have added feature upon feature to the genre, each time gradually detracting from the simple concept that we’ve all known and loved since the days of the original Super Mario games. Don’t get me wrong, I adore platformers of all shapes and sizes, with an especially strong penchant for Super Mario 64. But I still quietly yearn for the days of the simple pleasures that a 2D platformer could bring. As you can imagine, I constantly grinned throughout my time with LittleBigPlanet on the PS3, and the same is very much true of the PSP version.
//Twinkle, twinkle
As was the case with its living room counterpart, this is an extremely well thought out game. Besides the delightful tones of the inimitable Stephen Fry soothingly introducing you to the basic concepts, there are also some wonderful visual touches right from the outset – whether it be walking across a piano that plays Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, or bouncing from a kangaroo’s pouch to get to a higher platform. Action starts out in the Australian outback and swiftly moves to a wide variety of different locations ranging from the Orient and Middle East right up to Hollywood. And each of these areas provides its own unique challenges and quirks. The Orient is particularly ingenious, with the first few levels seeing you running away from a dragon, then subsequently facing it in a mini-boss encounter involving firing cannon balls to fend it off. It’s particularly thrilling considering you’re on a rickshaw at the time – a nice tie-in with the oriental theme.
Across all the areas, there are various puzzles to solve and complex jumping sequences to make. LittleBigPlanet isn’t as easy as its childlike appearance suggests, but it never feels unforgivingly harsh. There will be times when you may feel frustrated, but you’re guaranteed to continue until you succeed. Fortunately, there’s a reasonably adequate number of checkpoints to ensure that the game is never so frustrating that you give up, and there’s also no real punishment for restarting at checkpoints, unlike in the PS3 version. As before, there are plenty of collectibles to acquire along the way to ensure that your own Sackboy (or Sackgirl) looks suitably unique, as well as offering you the opportunity to dress Sackboy up in some rather bizarre clothing combinations.
//Create your own
It’s a shame that there’s no multiplayer for this incarnation of LittleBigPlanet, as it would have been great fun to play alongside other PSP owners. Fortunately, there’s a very comprehensive level creation mode that will certainly satisfy the inner game developer in you. There are plenty of things to adjust, ranging from object placement to custom camera angles and audio samples. It would be easy to lose many hours to this mode of play if you’re a finicky sort of person; luckily there is also the ability to upload your shining moment of glory to a central server to share your creations with other LittleBigPlanet owners. Considering the one million levels that have been created for the PS3 version, the potential here is huge.
As much as I have tried to enthuse about the simple beauties of LittleBigPlanet, it’s actually quite a tricky one to do justice to through mere description. As an intelligent person once said, “a picture paints a thousand words,” and this couldn’t be more true than it is for LittleBigPlanet. While many games succeed through huge explosive cut-scenes or set-pieces, LittleBigPlanet plods along gently, providing warmth wherever it goes while never sounding quite as wondrous in words as it actually is. The imagination shown in the levels seems almost limitless, and there’s no doubt that the more you play, the more impressed you will be by the small touches that come together to form such a well-rounded game. Due to its strong similarities to the PS3 version, it won’t convert those who didn’t get along with the concept the first time around. But if, like me, you do have a soul and a love of fun and quirky gaming, this purchase is a complete no brainer. You’ll be grinning from ear to ear, without a doubt. It’s just a shame there’s no multiplayer to keep you hooked indefinitely.
8/10
