'Little Big Planet' Revolutionizes How to 'Play' Video Games
User-Generated Content Sets This Game Apart
The online sharing aspect of the game is accessed from the "InfoMoon," which unlocks at the same time as "MyMoon." From there you can select "quick play" to be whisked away to a random level where up to three other online players join you. This is also where you can explore the online community of user-generated game levels. You can search for levels by game creators or by using keywords like "brilliant" or "easy." You can rate other levels and view the scores and comments of others. "Little Big Planet" uses a community monitoring system called "griefing" where anyone can report content that is inappropriate.
What makes this game so good is the combination of the three parts: playing, creating and sharing. The platform gaming is unusual and at times brilliant, but it isn't perfect. The controls are a little floaty, so you will fall off things when you don't expect to and die. When you die, you are "respawned" at the closest checkpoints. For each checkpoint, you have a limited number of lives, so occasionally, when you have hit a particularly challenging section, you may use up all of your lives and have to replay the whole level again. This is not a major complaint, particularly because there is so much to see in this funky colorful world. The bottom line is that the story mode is good enough to justify buying the game, even if it's all you play.
The building area is likewise fascinating and deep -- a wannabe game designer's dream. However, it may not appeal to children and casual gamers who don't have the patience to work through all the tutorials. But that's OK, because the user-generated content is there to explore, which will provide endless possibilities of new levels.
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