Media molecule's been very busy of late, for what was once just a quiet little game about creativity has come the media storm that's kicked the expectations of this little game into overdrive. LittleBigPlanet is already hailed as a Killer-App by many despite relatively nobody actually playing the game.
Are we aiming so high that kneecapping will be rebranded decapitation? Let's find out...
As a feature it's hard to think what anybody doesn't know about the game at this late stage but for simplicity sakes: Play, Create, Share. The game plays like a multi-tier platforming game a less rigid guardian heroes in short, it's 3D gaming on a limited plane of view. So what's different about it then, creating your own levels, objects, objectives, not to mention your own character. With a robust physics system any contraption from Crazy Machines should be legitimate for the add.
So you've played about and even made your own level, how about uploading it and trying someone else's creations whilst you're there, sure. Let's just up the stakes a little more and throw in 4 player online mode and prizes (collectable objects and riff-raff) from playing others levels and you've got a monster of a community game with potential as far as the community can give and of course the size limit of the level, something we should hope to be incremented as internet speeds increase further.
It's hard not to get excited about the game with just a month or so until its release so what could be a criticism to level at the game as there are obviously so many positive points, well for starters it's the great number of features that get full attention on all fronts but with no hands-on experience does it play well. A platformer without good play mechanics warrants little reason for persuing the create and share elements.
From initial impressions the game seems a little rough around the edges and plaforming gameplay though expected to fit a broad range of practicalities might seem outdated by future user creation. In short, mario runs and in later incarnations does something similar to a friction based turn sliding to a halt and then starting momentum again to the opposite direction. With all inidications that sackboy has a more floaty feeling it'll be sure to be a key element of the finished game to put to test.
When all is said and done it's the almost infinite range of likely additions that'll push this game further towards being the first and foremost game on the PS3 with Kratos and helghast killzone soldiers already emerging as playable skins for the game. How long until we see rosters of Capcom characters and sprite games recreated in the format and better yet witness original ideas from the LBP community, time will tell... in the end there will be chaos!