Lets face it, most games released these days usually have a similar theme, pick up a gun, shoot the bad guys and try not to get shot yourself, however occasionally a game comes along that is so refreshing and so different that it stands out above the crowd and shout’s look at me, well I’m looking and the game that has grabbed my attention? LittleBigPlanet.

Unless you have been living under a rather large rock since E3 2008 then you should have heard of LittleBigPlanet, the hype surrounding this highly original game has been something else, from members of the media to the general public and even developers themselves, everyone has been raving about this game, but now that it is here does it actually merit the massive hype?

LittleBigPlanet’s main star is called Sackboy, you can customise him until your hearts content and then once ready you are then all set to jump into the game, and since up to four players can play online and offline, which is often essential for getting past some levels then you can already see the appeal for people who like to play games with someone other than themselves.

LittleBigPlanet really is a game of two halves, first of all you have the levels included within the game, included here is the three levels from the Beta, which are basically tutorial levels to get you used to the game and it’s controls, here you will learn to control your character, find the first of the games hidden content and also learn how to use the popit menu system which the game centres around.

The game includes 20 main levels which are accessed from your Pod (which is basically a fully customisable cardboard space station). The levels included by the developer are nothing short of incredible and it goes without saying that even without the second part of the game (which I will get to in a minute) these alone make the game worth purchasing. There is no doubt that an incredible amount of work has went into the developers levels, there is just so much to find and do, even once you have completed a level you will always find yourself going back to it again and trying to find all the hidden extras.

Levels are made up of three layers, front, middle and back, as you run through the levels your character will jump between each layer as necessary, however if there is one drawback to the game it is that sometimes this will not happen as seamlessly as you would like it too due to the game thinking you are trying to do something else and when this happens it can often result in your Sackboy’s death, there are a few other frustrations like this within the game, however it seems to me that most of these could easily be patched in the future and I do know that the developers are aware of these issues. 

Throughout each level you will come across and be rewarded with plenty of collectables, these can then be used in the create mode to fill up your own levels in anyway you wish. All of the collectables throughout the levels are found within reward bubbles, these will be hidden in trees, hanging from the sky or even be rewarded by completing certain criteria within a level. Other ways of finding the collectables are by finding the sticker switches hidden throughout the game and then going back through the levels, placing the stickers on the switch and then collecting your reward. The sticker switches are found in all sorts of shapes and sizes, such as teapots, stars etc. Also hidden within each level are keys, if you manage to find these you will then unlock a simple challenge, these are fun to play but usually quite straight forward.

The second part and also the main part of LittleBigPlanet is the creation mode, here you can create or even recreate almost any level that you can think of in your head. In the beta for example people created some outstanding levels based on games, the God of War one that I played particularly stood out for me. The sky really is your limit, I personally created a short level called Race Day, all it consisted of was a bus to the racecourse and then a race to the finish involving two rocket propelled horses, simple stuff which took around 30 mins to create, however it kept me and my friends entertained for a while.

Creating levels is done using the rather simple in game popit menu, from here you can access all manner of items to help you in creating your levels and the items within it. The simplest way to create an item is to draw it using the material of your choice, from here you can then add bolts, speech bubbles and all manner of add ons to enable you to bring your creation to life, be it a monster, a car or even a rocket. Levels can either be created by using the set backgrounds that are already included in the game or by starting on a blank canvas and doing everything yourself, including the platforms, hazards and enemies, oh and anything else that you would associate with a platform game. Inspiration can be drawn from the levels included within the game or user created levels, and once you see how things work remaking them in your own levels isn’t as difficult as it may seem thanks to the simple tools included in your menu.

Before you can really get into creating with all of the items, you will need to sit through quite a few tutorials, these are assigned to the more complex items such as the motor bolts and pistons and explain exactly how to use these items and what their main function is, during the tutorial you will be given a chance to use the item to make sure you understand how, and if you are successful you will then be rewarded with some other items for your patience. While sitting through tutorials may not appeal to all, in this game it is certainly essential if you want to build levels that will make people sit up and take notice. 

As if all of this functionality wasn’t enough, LittleBigPlanet has another trick up it’s sleeve, the ability to play online with your friends. Each time you play a level you will be given the choice of playing either online or offline, as the host you can choose which levels your party will play, be they your own created levels, the games included levels or user created levels. The online system seems to work very well and finding four players online has never been so quick and efficient. The games are pretty varied too, sometimes you will all be racing against each other while at other times you will be helping each other to cross platforms and such, and when it’s all at an end and you have completed the level you can even give the winner a slap with a swing of your arm which always makes me smile.

The Trophy Hunters out there amongst you will be happy as LittleBigPlanet offers 48 trophies for you to unlock. The PSEye is also well supported allowing you to take pictures at home and then implement them into the game as stickers.

Graphically the game is very cute, although most levels have generally the same idea, there is certainly enough diversity to make sure that everything looks a bit different. What I personally love most about the graphics is that each of the textures almost look real enough to touch, including the cute little Sackboy who you just want to pick up and put in your pocket, if only you could. The sound is also a joy and fits into the game really well, one of the items you will use allows you to stream the game music into your levels and other items allows you to add sound effects. All of the sound included is excellent, my only disappointment here is that you cannot use your own music, perhaps in the future.

LittleBigPlanet is quite an incredible game, it’s original, fun, creative and best of all sociable. The hype machine was at full power for LittleBigPlanet, however the energy was not wasted because this is one game that more than lives up to the anticipation for it’s launch.