Editorial: Exploring LittleBIGPlanet

2009.04.14

When LBP first arrived to the PS3 I was enamored. I was so enamored, in fact, that I began to see LittleBig opportunities in my every day life. For example, Lusipurr and I were once sitting in Red Lobster and there was a very large, wooden fish hanging between the different sections of the restaurant. This wooden fish, hanging from chains, was conspicuously blank. All I could think was that I had to open my Popit and find the matching fish sticker. At which point I fully expected to hear the customary “successfully placed sticker” sound and be rewarded with goodies. I had so been looking forward to a shrimp head to match my turkey head.

untitled-2What is it about this game that I find so appealing? I think, like Pokemon, it is the sheer amount of things to do that keeps me coming back. Whether I’m logging on to play the story mode, to seek out the latest user-created levels online, or to create another little sack person, I never get bored. The environments are rich, engaging, and not challenging enough to make a weak-willed gamer like myself run away screaming in frustration. I can be a bunny, a wrestler, a mini-Rorschach, and even a lion!

My one complaint about this game has to do with the search feature when I am looking for online content. Despite having used said search feature numerous times, it always takes me a long time to figure out how to access it and then to figure out how to find the good levels. Oftentimes, I find myself having to wade through dozens of terrible and unworkable levels before I find a good one—and believe me there are many great levels to be found.