Little Big Planet PSP

Little Big Planet
PSP (version tested)
Sony

The Good: amazing port of original, very little discarded – brilliant narrative from Stephen Fry – design your own level is unfathomably functional.
The Bad: little PSP screen doesn't do justice to fantastic visuals.

The original Little Big Planet took the gaming world by storm when it was released this time last year. Resurrecting the simple scrolling platform format and managing to redefine it at the same time, LBP allows you to control your very own 'Sackboy', a character you're encouraged to give hats, wigs, moustaches, swords, hot-pants and as snarly/confused/delirious a look as you wish him (or her) to have. Said 'Sackboy' then has to navigate the Little Big Planet, helping new friends find their lost family members, lost dogs and lost magic lamps. For every friend helped, your 'Sackboy' is given rewards of clothing, access to new levels and the like.



Almost identical to its almost perfect Playstation 3 predecessor Little Big Planet oozes style. A game as uncomplicated as this may rely on its visual strengths but this port is backed by fun, challenging and charming gameplay. Foreground and background paths add an unseen depth to the game that opens a whole world of puzzle solving opportunities. Jumping, swinging, pulling levers and riding Camels give LBP a smooth momentum which can occasionally be broken up with frustrating fiddliness thanks to the sometimes schizophrenic PSP analogue stick.



One of LBP's big draws is its level design function which I fully expected to fall by the wayside in this version, but somehow has managed to transport itself from the most powerful console on the market to the handheld format. Serious loading time and a whopping 3MB per-level memory requirement prevents it from being the spectacular addition it promises to be, but its depth and ambition are things to be genuinely admired. I'll stick to downloading far more patient people's designs in future.

Little Big Planet is a quite remarkable game that will be enjoyed by all, on any format.
9/10