Little Big Beta

I will be completely honest with you. I think Little Big Planet is the best thing that happened to video games industry since the first Playstation. Seriously.
I wanted this game ever since I saw the first footage and after spending a few days with the beta I can honestly say that this is one of the few games that will define this generation of hardware. And if it will succeed financially, and I’m sure it will, I anticipate a big comeback of classic platform games.

Little Big Planet’s roots are in all the great old-school 2D platformers that generations of players loved. Yes, the game may have 3D graphics (and damn good ones if you ask me), but the gameplay is 2.5D at most. It’s not bad by any means, far from it. Thanks to the fantastic physics engine and “materials” (simulating real-life materials like polystyrene, wood, stone, rubber, sponge and so on) used in the creation of all the stages the level of interactivity is beyond any platform game that I can recall (and I can recall quite a few).
The whole artistic design is created around that too and is just incredibly cute and adorable, but it’s not the cuteness of Viva Piñata. It’s something that appeals to a much broader audience - to my surprise actually. I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary because I like silly, cartoonish designs, but when I showed the beta to EXramp, who is generally against putting into games anything that make little girls smile, he expressed an enthusiastic approval. I was shocked, shocked I tell you. It seems that Media Molecule really nailed the art design.

In the beta version of LBP there are only a few story levels designed by the developers. The function as both: tutorials and material/item storages. Before you’ll be able to build anything, you will need to get through those levels to acquire the “building blocks”. And LBP is about using those “blocks” in the most creative way you can muster. The level editor is unbelievably powerful – the possibilities are almost unlimited. Those who think that you’ll just see simple landscapes and some platforms are in for a big surprise. The amount of devices, triggering systems, switches and contraptions is impressive, but what’s even more impressive is what people can do with it. There is one level in particular that made my jaw drop all the way to the basement. I can’t really recall the author’s name (sorry bout that), but the level is called World of Colour (or something very similar) – it is one of the best levels I’ve seen in any platformer… ever. The person who created it should get a job in Media Molecule and a big pile of cash.
And yet the whole creating process is as easy as tying your shoelaces – by that I mean, that a 4-year-old might have a problem with it, but with some practice even he will be able to make helicopter out of it.
The only problem I have with the game right now is that it’s fairly easy to make a level that simply won’t work and player will not be able to finish it. That, however, is unavoidable and cannot be fixed. Still, if someone is diligent enough he will test his own creations for all possibilities of failure.
Another thing that worries me a bit is that a player can only publish five levels at a time. That is not a lot, but the again, if, let’s say, a million people will buy the game and everyone publishes those five levels it gives five million levels to play. Let me write it in capitals – FIVE MILLION LEVELS! Even if 1/10 of them are playable the potential is just mind-blowing.
And that leads me to the last thing – the community. Even in the beta the community is lively, prolific and helpful. Considering that everything (posting levels, comments and all sorts of interactivity) is completely done in-game I would have to say that it works extremely well.

The beta will end in a few days and when it happens I will be holding my breath until I die or get the retail version of the game. Because it’s worth it.

EDIT

Since I'm being subjected to constant nagging by my beloved finacee I should point out that Little Big Planet made a big and surprisingly positive impression on her. So big actually, that she WANTS me to buy the game and play with me, which is remarkable. That is something that doesn't happen very often even though she's not against games at all, and occasionally plays them as well.