Little Big Planet, one of PlayStation’s many franchises, has made its debut to the new world of Generation 8 gaming, with their new game, Little Big Planet 3, on November 18.
For those who don’t know, Little Big Planet isn’t your shoot-em-up, kill the dragon, and take over the universe sort of games. Little Big Planet is a platformer. Similar to the likes of the Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong franchises, this video game scrolls the character across the screen, requiring players to avoid obstacles and defeat enemies. However, unlike these franchises, Little Big Planet brings a new element of innovation to the table: user-created levels. With a creation mode, people who own the game can create levels and share them online via the LBP servers. This is where the game becomes amazing. Online users have the ability to create levels and games with the exact same tools and tricks that the developers used to create the actual game. Since the first game, users have taken this simple concept and formed it into intricate masterpieces with spectacular environments and amazing music. With this feature, the first two Little Big Planet games achieved Game of the Year status.
Little Big Planet 3 brings new abilities, new customizations, and new friends. In Little Big Planet 3, players can play as three new characters along with Sackboy, the original character. Other characters include Oddsock, a strange do-like character who can run up walls, Swoop, a bird-like creature who can fly, and Toggle, who can grow large and small on command with trigger switches. Along with the new characters come the new level customization tools. In Little Big Planet 3, levels are no longer limited to size, as levels can be as big and little as they want. Exclusive to the Little Big Planet series, players can switch in between layers within levels, allowing multiplayer capabilities and detailed scenery. In the first two games, players were limited with only three layers to create. In Little Big Planet 3, players can create up to 16 layers of gameplay, which add new abilities and functionalities.
While this may be fun and dandy, this new little game has some big problems. First of all, the game can be very slow and lagging at times, requiring players to restart the game or even the system when it occurs. Many glitches are apparent, especially when menus open and close randomly without user permission. Plus, if players found the create mode confusing before, the new mode will twist their brains in all sorts of directions. If you’re into single player campaigns, don’t even bother. The gameplay itself is so short, you could knock it out in an hour or two. With the flaws detected, the game is still worth playing, just to see the outstanding work players put into the game.
This game is available for the PlayStation 3 and 4 systems only. If you have never played the game before, you might find the game very childish and silly. But, if you do take the time to play it, you’ll find a huge load of amazing games that are worth the $60 to buy it.