Games are a fickle thing. One minute we’re all chucking bullets at anything that moves, the next sees a change of momentum bringing about cooking games with a dash of puzzle. What I’m trying to get at is the situation we find ourselves in with regards to the games industry. There has been an influx of first person shooters and all the usual suspects over the past 12 months and there is a scary thought entering people’s minds. Where is the originality? Is there any more creative spark out there on the shelves?
Now, I’m not saying the games we get are bad, but the job Little Big Planet does for not just the Playstation 3, but for games players in general, is nothing short of epic. This is Sony’s big title of the year and they’re pinning all their hopes on a little man made of fabric who can do what he likes. I’m not going to beat around the bush here, the fact is this is, for me anyway, 2008’s game of the year and this review is pretty much going to go through the reasons as to why.
The graphics are really nothing short of stunning. There is not only an enormous amount of beauty on display here, but when you first crack the seal, power up your console and let your eyes sink the visuals in; you almost feel instant warmth towards the way it looks. Sackboy is adorable and helps to contribute to the game and its scrapbook styling. The colors are as vibrant a rainbow breaking through the cloudy skyline and so rich in substance that you can be often forgiven for thinking the line between interactive software and animated short is getting a bit more blurry. Little Big Planet isn’t something which is going to go for detailed realism and have maps of cities recreated down to the most accurate level or try to ensure a character looks so much like his real life counterpart, but then it never needed to. What it does do is provide your optic nerves with something fun and interesting. A masterpiece painted by the joypad generation and for that we are grateful.
