LittleBigPlanet

Amazing. Awe-inspiring. Must be seen to be believed. These are all words and phrases the you’ve doubtless heard bandied around in conversation about LittleBigPlanet in the year since its debut. It’s been a good year for the sack people of LBP, after all, what with the plethora of Game of the Year and other awards Media Molecule’s baby received—and in a year with stiff competition from the likes of Fallout 3 and MGS4, among others. Sony themselves have taken such a shine LBP that it’s become the spokesgame of what one can only imagine is an entire planned series of titles based around the pursuit of creativity in robust, user-generated worlds. And to celebrate, SCEA’s dropped the inevitable LittleBigPlanet: Game of the Year Edition, complete with some bonus DLC and extra levels.

So, what’s in this re-release that you haven’t seen before? It depends on how familiar you are to LittleBigPlanet already. If you’re somehow only just getting acquainted, LBP isn’t your run-of-the-mill game. It’s a journey (and a decidedly madcap one, at that) across a patchwork of nations and worlds positively brimming with panache, charm, humor and one hell of a spit-shine in the form of an odd cardboard and stop-motion style aesthetic. The only limitations to your experiences therein are the inevitably finite borders of the game’s (incredibly versatile) level editor and the comparative stretch of what you yourself can dream up. Rest assured, even in a post-Scribblenauts world, you can probably design, build or approximate just about anything you could think of in LBP—its relevancy has by no means been lost. And much like Maxwell’s adventures with language, the appeal here is universal.

The 18 user-created levels added to the GotY edition, hand-picked by the developers from the obscene one million plus level community that’s spawned since the game’s inception, are a testament to that universality. The creators of these levels represent countries from all over the world—another big kudos to MM for including video introductions from each stage’s author—and their various creations represent the wide spectrum of experiences you can have with the game. Whether you’re talking a race through a Tron-inspired world, a trip inside a huge prismatic computer, through a surreal world of stone or even a Yojimbo style-samurai-western-turned-schmup, these levels run the gamut of genres (and even, to some degree, core mechanics) and really showcase the kinds of creations that are possible in LBP. As these are more added incentives for PS3 owners that haven’t already picked up the game, this bonus level set doesn’t warrant an additional purchase if you have, but for newcomers it’s a nice addition to an already stellar core set.

Rounding out the bonus content for this re-release, then, are the additional costume and sticker packs with which to outfit and accessorize your Sackboy (or Sackgirl), not to mention the Kojima-approved MGS4/LBP content. The costume pack choices are admittedly a little strange: the MGS4 costumes are simultaneously awesome and adorable, but the remaining Monster, Animal and History costumes and packs seem to be picked at random from the fairly staggering amount of DLC available on PSN (where are our Wander and Yorda Sacks)? Nevertheless, any extra costumes for your little sack person are a good thing. But the real treat here (duhh) are the Metal Gear levels themselves, which, if you haven’t yet played them, give you a decidedly tongue-in-cheek look at the MGS universe (as well as giving you access to the Paintinator). I consider myself a die-hard Metal Gear fan, so I positively geeked out on these levels, and just about any self-respecting fan of the series will probably do the same, if they haven’t already. Again, this bonus content is just there for newcomers that don’t already own LBP, but if you’re even considering a purchase, clearly the over-$30 of additional content is more than enough reason to get the GotY edition of the game over the original, if only for the Metal Gear costumes and levels.

In all honesty, I still can’t recommend LittleBigPlanet enough, even a year after its release. The game’s extremely few flaws are still present, most notably the occasional glitch when auto-switching between one of the three playable 2D planes of action, which may leave your poor Sack person in a fatal lurch. But it’s still far and away one of the best games of this console generation, and any kid lucky enough to grow up with this as their Mario Bros. has no idea how lucky they are. Besides, where the hell else can you find levels like Little Dead Space? Between that and Screaming Mantis arms for my Sackboy, things are just aces.

Long story short: if you haven’t already, buy this game.

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