Little Big Planet featuring Sackboy, Sonys new poster boy, is just around the corner and Wonderwallweb has managed to grab a press pass for the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, avoiding the crazies at the Fringe to get hands-on with the latest debug version of this game. I, like many others have seen loads of screenshots and general talk of this game but it had not really sank into my mind as a must have game, however coming away from the debug version I now yearn for more exploits with the unfortunately named hero.  

 

From what initially seems to be a very simple game, you soon realise that this a huge and complex title that allows the user to customize it so much that it will no longer resemble the out of box version. 

 

Once the game initially loads you are presented with the basic Sackboy form, if you are dying for a game you just walk up to the PS3 controller in the centre of the screen and start the map selection. If however you want a bit of originality you can press the square button to bring up the customization menus. Here you can create a new main screen by using stickers and wallpaper, chat to other players online and also change the appearance of your Sackboy. 

 

The amount of clothing and accessories you are able to use is massive and you can open loads more by playing the game and collecting them. I went for a red and white floral design with pink hair but others went for a darker Spiderman look along with an American Footballer’s helmet. 

 

 

Bringing in new players is also very easy, just turn on an extra PS3 controller and another Sackboy will fall from a small tube in the ceiling. At first the screen seems a bit busy with more players on screen but then you start to notice a cool few touches, each characters menu is a different colour but even better, there is a small piece of thread that comes from your Sackboy to the menu, little touches like this are throughout the game and it makes it even more endearing.

 

In the level select you are presented with a huge knitted globe with a variety of patches sewn on, the larger ones are you main levels whilst the smaller ones are unlocked during play and tend to be a single screen sized puzzle. 

 

One of Media Molecules main goals was to use co-operation for most of the levels, and in playing the game it shows how they have reached this target, there are parts were you will only progress by working together. One example of this is when one of the characters has to go and hit a switch whilst the others wait, another example is when all of you will roll large bombs about the screen without hitting each other to blow up a blocked passage.

 

Controlling Sackboy is surprisingly basic, all you need is X to jump and R1 to grab and whilst simple it is very versatile. You are also able to change level planes with a press of the L1 button, so if a moving platform is closer to the screen you can press L1 and jump to get to this, adding another dimension to the levels. When in co-op you all share lives from the same pool, so if they all run out its game over, this leads to great gaming moments where the lesser skilled are helped along by the more experienced, if you die during a level you are taken out of the game until another player walks past a checkpoint, then your Sackboy will crawl from a tube on screen and be ready to continue.

 

When first playing through the levels they will seem very linear, with a beginning and an end, but with closer inspection you will notice sticker boards dotted around, if you have picked up the matching sticker from other levels you can use it to open new areas which may hold extra goodies to use in game or during customization.

 

It was the games graphics that surprised me the most, seeing the screenshots is one thing, but to see it in full motion is truly stunning, the characters have great animation, the physics of falling debris and the traps have a "real" feel to them that not many other games achieve. As you play through the levels it really does look like you are controlling a small bundle of material through a photorealistic adventure. When you jump on a rail cart, the speed gradually increases making you grip on for sheer life, the screen shows great motion blur that comes to a horrible and sudden end when you crash into a wall. This was however an unfinished version so a few areas still need to be polished, but if there was ever a game to show off to friends and family then this is it.

 

There are only a few games that I get excited about and after playing Little Big Planet, this one has barged its way onto the top of my list.