I've been looking forward to playing Little Big Planet since I heard about it last year, so I was extremely excited to pop it in to the PS3 and give it a try. I had pre-ordered through Gamestop (for the God of War outfits) and was able to get my copy the Saturday before the official release date. Not sure why it worked out that way, although I do know Gamestop's all over were doing the same, but I was glad to have some time to focus on the Story mode until the servers came up. Between work and school work I was able to beat the story mode in a weekend, I got stuck in a few tricky spots because I underestimated the physics of the game. When I heard the servers were up I immediately logged in and started playing. I spent the next week or so playing various levels online and just experimenting with the create mode when I got bored with the levels. This weekend I spent a good 4 or 5 hours of Sunday making my first level and I think at this point I've gotten the entire experience of the game and can give a pretty detailed review.
Play
LBP does a good job of easing you in to the game mechanics with the story mode, the levels are laid out in a way that lets you play through once and learn your way around but offers a good amount or replay value with hidden areas that you might only notice when you understand all aspects of the physics and zones (or planes of movement).The story isn't really cohesive and is pretty short but from what I've seen it offers some of the best gameplay thus far and definitely offers great inspiration for the types of things players can do in their own levels. When I was making my own level I found myself recalling the parts of the story mode I found most enjoyable to play and then attempting to recreate that or at least create some derivative. As I said the replay value is extremely high for the story mode, first I went back through all the levels because I didn't get the concept of sticker triggers and unlocked more pieces implementing a new understanding of the mechanic. My next play through attempt was to see how many levels I could ace and what special accessories I would get if I was successful. Acing in the later levels has been pretty tough because of the increased difficulty, and that definitely leads me to believe that your going to have to do quite a few more play-throughs of later levels to find all the items and get a 100% on the level to get the “All items Collected” item. This kind of replay value is really only substantial for the kind of OCD players who have to 100% a game to consider it beaten, like myself. The controls are a bit frustrating in the later levels when you find yourself having to jump forward and backward between planes and the game doesn't understand and leaves you on the same plane in front of an object that is hurtling straight towards you.
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Playing online is incredibly fun, which just makes it that much worse when you experience lag or the servers go down. The system, or lack their of really, for hosting a game and joining a game is frustrating; If a player joins a game in progress they have no real way of knowing if they'll even get to play the level, they might be joining a group that is already towards the end of the level and so the player joining doesn't even get to play. There is an object the keeps players from joining a game after the leader has passed a certain point, but very few creators implement the device save the few that are making the incredibly elaborate levels (and they seem to be doing everything right anyways.) Its also some what frustrating to be given all the tools to make fun, interesting, and creative levels and to really see nothing but “Get a coulple trophies really fast,” “Ninja Warrior/American Gladiator/Gauntlet based tv show,” and “_______ recreated in LBP.” I don't know which is worse, the complete lack of originality these levels show or the horrible job most do in recreating whatever it is their based on. So far the best level I've played online is the God Of War level which isn't recreation so much as more of a level that was inspired by GOW and uses the same visuals and some gameplay elements. Ok, maybe thats contradictory but its a really good level unlike the mario level that looks awesome but has an elevator that kills you because its to small to stand on or the Sonic level which looks exactly like Green Hill zone level 1 but is barely playable because the giant sonic you are supposed to ride in doesn't work. I can understand the urge to make these kinds of level because when you get into the create mode the number of options you have is a bit daunting and having a point of reference makes it easier to wrap your head around level making. Hopefully as time progresses players will become more familiar with the creation tools and there will be better levels to play online.
Create
Level creation is like a time vacuum, on the one hand I was upset with how much time it took to create a level but on the other hand was the satisfaction of playing through a level I made. The number of materials and the size of the levels are overwhelming, the little thermometer never seemed to fill no matter how much I added, a surprise compared to my first experiences in level editing way back when the Tony Hawk games would let you make your own levels but they would fill up quickly. Controls for things like winches, ropes and pistons are not nearly precise enough for them to be used easily, for the most part I could get them to work but never exactly how I wanted. It is pretty nice that you can take players from the web into your pod and have them try out your level before you publish it. The feedback provided online also seems to help with the level making since players can tell a creator what works and what doesn't. So far the biggest problem with the Create mode is the amount of trial and error involved, there is so much that can be done but no good way to go about planning. LittleBigWorkshop was supposed to help with that and although it does have a nice blueprint mode its not nearly detailed enough to really encompass all the aspects of a level, leaving most people who chose to plan out levels with no good option other then pencil and paper.
LittleBigPlanet has lived up to the hype for me and each time I play I discover something new that makes me more optimistic about the future of this game and its online community. I'm hoping that level creation will get easier as I make more, and I will post a small follow up in the coming weeks. I'll hopefully finish my level “The floor is lava” this weekend so if you read this please give it a play and leave some feedback in the comments of the game or here.
My PSN id: mondoUNC