LittleBigPlanet (PlayStation 3)

:Play. Create. Share.
::—LittleBigPlanet's Tagline
LittleBigPlanet is a platform game developed by Media Molecule. It is the first installment in the LittleBigPlanet series. It was developed in 2008 exclusively for the PlayStation 3.
== Plot ==
Sackperson, the protagonist who can be customized to the player's fitting, starts out in a garden area, where they are introduced to the King, one of the Creator Curators of LittleBigPlanet, the Queen. They meet Little Xim and Big Xam as well, who are in charge of the Mini Levels. After learning the basics, Sackperson heads for the Savannah, where the next Creator Curator, Zola, resides. When using a launch submarine, Sackperson accidentally breaks one of Zola's statues, Sackperson is asked to investigate what is scaring his buffalo; in return for his forgiveness. The culprits turn out to be fire and crocodiles and Sackperson has to clear a crocodile's name, who had been accused of eating Meerkat Mum's son, Stripy Tail. Sackperson learns that Stripy Tail was actually at a club with some female meerkats, underground where the meerkats live. After returned home Meerkat Mum, Sackperson does a favor for one of Zola's servants and goes to a wedding, where his friend, Frida, is about to wed with her bridegroom, Don Lu. However he's gone missing; therefore the wedding is at stake. Later, with the help of his dog, Sackperson locates him in a dark cave. Don Lu explains that he got lost and tired that he could not find his way out. Frida believes that Don Lu had left her at the altar and goes on a rampage with her Skulldozer. However, when she sees her bridegroom waiting for her, she realises it was just a silly misunderstanding, forgets everything, and they wed.
Don Lu takes Sackperson to a canyon, where Frida and Don Lu have their honeymoon and the player meets Uncle Jalapeño. Sackperson frees Uncle Jalapeño, who was put in prison unfairly by the evil Sheriff Zapata. Uncle Jalapeño teaches Sackperson about explosives. After the player chases Sheriff Zapata into a temple and defeats him, Uncle Jalapeño takes a vacation in the metropolis, taking Sackperson with him, where they meet Uncle Jalapeño's friend, Mags the Mechanic. She trades Sackperson a new car for Uncle Jalapeño's car. Sackperson races Mags's nemesis, Ze Dude, who stole her car and after the race drives it into the sewer. Sackperson is then tasked with retrieving her car from the sewers and defeating Ze Dude and his bouncers, who were wrecking Mags's construction site. Ze Dude, defeated, praises Sackperson as a worthy foe, and lets them take his private jet to an island to train with Grandmaster Sensei, his martial arts teacher. Grandmaster Sensei trains Sackperson to defeat the evil Sumo, who took over Grandmaster Sensei's castle and her talking flame-throwing cat; and the Terrible Oni, with the help of her cat.
From there Sackperson goes to a temple, to get their very own talking flame-throwing cat, the Great Magician's latest creation, who is the master of emitters. After speaking to the Goddess at the end of the Dancer's Court, she guides Sackperson to the Great Magician himself. After Sackperson overcomes his toughest obstacles, a temple full of emitters, he asks them to defeat the Collector, a rogue Creator Curator. Sackperson, with some help from a general and a bear whose family the Collector has kidnapped, infiltrates the Collector's bunker, gets past his army, and frees the many inhabitants of LittleBigPlanet. As everyone escapes, they thank Sackperson and wish him good luck as Sackperson goes to confront the Collector. After a battle with the Collector's creations, the Collector is revealed to be a little, lonely man, who had kidnapped everyone because he didn't have any friends and hides in shame. However, everyone, including Sackperson, offers to be his friend. He accepts, and everyone holds hands, beginning a new friendship.
== Gameplay ==
The gameplay of LittleBigPlanet revolves around platforming, much like retro games of the best, in a 2.5D fashion. This allows Sackperson to move from side to side, but between three planes. Sackperson can grab certain materials, which can be used to reach new parts. Sackperson can be customized by the player with the many costumes that can be found throughout the levels.
There are many collectibles to be found that unlock new materials and new items. The collectibles are generally found in bubbles, much like the points, and offer an award of fifty points with the collectible. Points can be collected to get a placement in the leaderboards, if the player has a PlayStation Network account.
Two downloadable packs, one based around the Metal Gear franchise and the other based on Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean, allowed new equipment and materials to be used, including a paintball gun and water, respectively.
== Reception ==
LittleBigPlanet has received wide critical acclaim from reviewers. The first major publication to review LittleBigPlanet was the UK edition of PlayStation Official Magazine. In their November edition they gave the game a score of 10/10 calling it "a beautifully elegant and powerful creative tool that puts unlimited potential in the palm of your hand". Eurogamer scored the game 9/10. Reviewer Oli Welsh commented specifically on the game's "unforgettable visuals" and that the accurate lighting was "as total a realisation of high-definition as you'll see anywhere in games this year". He similarly praised the multiplayer gameplay as "a loosely-structured scrum of competition, collaboration and sheer, joyful mucking around". Speaking of the game's comprehensive creation and community tools in contrast with its classic platforming gameplay, he calls the game "the future and the past of videogames, rolled into one".
IGN (U.S.) scored it 9.5/10 and said the game was an "instant classic". The reviewer, Chris Roper, also suggested that the game may even be a reason to buy a PlayStation 3; "If you own a PlayStation 3, you cannot miss this. If you don’t have a PS3 yet, this is the reason to get one." GamePro scored the game 5/5 and said that the real strength of the game "is the tremendous sense of freedom and creativity that it instils in you." Edge gave it a 10/10 and said "It's a multiplayer riot, a visual landmark, a feat of engineering, and one of the most charming games ever made. But even those accolades are dwarfed by its scope, its potential, and the apparent endlessness of them both." Ben "Yahtzee" Crowshaw of the Zero Punctuation show on The Escapist said "[The Sackboy character] looks like the result of a sinister military experiment to concentrate cuteness to a weaponised level..." in one of his reviews for the Escapist online magazine.
Category:Games that are rated E
Category:Games released on the PlayStation 3
Category:Games released in 2008