Preview: LittleBigPlanet

LittleBigPlanet, from Media Molecule for the Playstation 3, debuted at E3 2007 and caused a stir that no-one was expecting. With people wanting more and more from games, why would a bog-standard platformer cause such excitement?

With the title due out in the first half of 2008, the answer lies in two places. The first of these is the most realistic and dynamic physics engine ever seen on a games console. Every object interacts seamlessly with every other object and there is a real sense of weight and momentum, and puzzles can be built of out this such as knocking down a tower of blocks with a ball to make a staircase of dropping something heavy onto a seesaw to propel the characters up to the next platform.

But the real appeal of LittleBigPlanet is found in the customization options, with players being able to create and fully customize levels from the word go. With the touch of a button menus are opened and allow the simple creation and manipulation of objects in real time with no additional loading required. All the levels created by Media Molecule’s designers are made with the same tools available to users so those who persist will be able to create some truly staggering masterpieces that can then be uploaded, shared, and rated via the Playstation Network.

This is an important device that completely throws away a lot of the problems suffered in the past by platform games. Whilst the linearity in the levels are still there, the ability to edit of create these levels gives the game the replay value that many platform titles miss out on.

These features allow users to experience and create complex puzzles in their levels which may require multiple players to solve – perhaps two characters are needed in order to lift a rock onto a lever for example. So with offline and online multiplayer support LittleBigPlanet is a perfect party piece as well, although it will be important for Media Molecule to get the online support lag free as, being a platform game, timing is of the essence and it cannot afford to suffer from the problems of other PS3 titles over the PSN.

But LittleBigPlanet is not only promising because of what it adds, but also what it takes away. Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario are two franchises that have suffered from going 3D, and whilst LittleBigPlanet is fully three dimensional, it plays like an old fashioned 2D platformer. Not having that distracting 3rd dimension brings the focus back to the action rather than carefully aligning for a difficult jump.

Add to these features stunning visuals, a catchy soundtrack and brilliant slapstick humour achieved by the cuddly characters whose extremities can be player controlled and this looks like a title that could reinvent the way people think about platform games. With moving the emphasis on running and jumping to physics, teamwork and user customization, LittleBigPlanet seems on course to take a giant leap forward in an otherwise recently stale genre.