LittleBigPlanet

One final look at possibly the most intriguing title of 2008.

The August 2008 Games Convention in Germany provided international journalists with one final extended hands-on session with at one of the most anticipated titles of 2008. This closed-door session shed some new light on the single-player story mode as well as a few other features.

At the beginning of this closed-door demonstration, the game's designers explained that the game was "pretty much finished" and that what we'd be seeing was very, very close to what wed be playing when the game releases on October 29.

Much of the demonstration was a rehash of the game's core tenets: play, create, and share. GamePro learned a few new bits of information about each pillar of gameplay, though.

LittleBigPlanet

'Play, Create, Share' with your friends. It's the LittleBigPlanet way.

-The single-player experience will feature "hours and hours" of gameplay for the offline gamer. LittleBigPlanet features a multi-level Story Mode that's described as "light, quirky, and a bit odd." This multi-level adventure features multiplayer characters and involves a number of quests to find and get certain objects. How odd? Here's an example: In one of these levels, two characters land in a balloon from Japan. Theyre trying to find a temple so that they can get a special item that will help them in their quest.

-Rewards are copious and multi-faceted. The game's designers and anyone who creates a level in a game can define a large number of the rewards and awards players will gain upon completing a level or achieving special goals. LittleBigPlanet also uses virtual stickers that can be found and placed onto specially designated walls for rewards.

-User voting has three dimensions. LittleBigPlanet will allow gamers to rate the levels they play and find entertaining new levels via three different methods. First, gamers will be able to "Heart," or vote up a level. There is no negative voting. Second, gamers can tag a level with whatever descriptors theyd like; these descriptors can denote difficulty, style of play, etc. Finally, the games social networking layer will allow gamers to keep track of levels designed by their friends; if you see a level you like, you can just befriend that person and youll hear about all their new levels.

LittleBigPlanet

Stickers can be placed anywhere and range from facial features to mushrooms..

-Enemy A.I. is driven by customizable brains. Developers who want to attach artificial intelligence to the threats, bosses, and enemies they create do so through the use of brains. These brains govern A.I. logic, and can be placed on any object in the game. LBP designers can then designate the behavior of these brain-powered creations by specifying speed of movement, levels of aggressiveness and other behaviors, such as following/avoiding, as well as the perception radius  the range at which the creature or object will notice players' presence. Theres a lot of depth here. Players will kill or destroy an A.I. opponent in classic platform game fashion - by jumping on its brain.

-Custom costumes will be released and designed through DLC. LittleBigPlanet allows you to fully customize Sack Boy. In recent months, Sony has announced that Kratos and Nariko skins will be available for download and use. We expect to see thousands of others. As our demo closed, a thoughtful Scottish game reviewer posed an interesting question: Since the game is so dynamic, how in the world will reviewers be able to accurately assess the game's potential, particularly since the vast majority of the user-generated levels and games won't even be available until weeks or months after the games release?

GamePro would love to hear your thoughts. Chime in below!

LittleBigPlanet

Dress up your Sack Boy or Sack Girl to suit the theme of your created level.

Comments [40]

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xbox420king

So what is this game actually about? im not hating on this game or anything but it doesnt interest me one bit. come on sony you can do better then this.

i_need_a_username

Yoyi3000 wrote:

so there is a story mode

yeah with over a 100 levels...LBP FTW!!!!!!

i_need_a_username

As our demo closed, a thoughtful Scottish game reviewer posed an interesting question: Since the game is so dynamic, how in the world will reviewers be able to accurately assess the game's potential, particularly since the vast majority of the user-generated levels and games won't even be available until weeks or months after the games
release?

WOW!

RoadHeadSelf

I can't wait. Should be one of the most fun games of the year (and cutest >.> yes, I said it).

TheMisfit138

I don't own a PS3 but this is one game I would absolutely love to play. It looks so great. I remember when it was first announced I was and still am very interested in it. You probably won't here me say this often but I envy you PS3 owners.

hiphophippy27

Lol anybody who calls this a "kids" game needs to open their eyes. If this is a "kids" game then I guess you must have hated Mario too. It basically gives you the ability to take the greatest environments from the world's greatest platformers (Mario, Sonic, Crash Bandicoot, etc) and put them all in one level.

Definitely going to pick this one up.

ZanonX

I wanna get this game just to mess around and build stuff, I get bored sometimes, maybe it will be another hobby for me.

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