LittleBigPlanet is a magical and entertaining place where every idea that derives from our minds is captured and saved in a space in time - another world, mind you. It is an aura that hugs planet Earth. This world allows you to customize it with your thoughts and dreams as you become the paintbrush to decorate the canvas of LittleBigPlanet.
The carnival is in town for LittleBigPlanet's enjoyment. However, the carnival may not always be fun and games with cotton candy and rides that twirl a Sackboy's tummy. The Puppeteer has taken all the good from what is normally a fun place and is turning little Sackboys and girls who enter its doors into Hallows. The Puppeteer was once the greatest entertainer of Carnivalia and was taken by the Dreaded Boo. Upon his return, the Puppeteer was filled with rage and his funfilled magic gone, leaving the the people of Carnivalia running from his presence.
During the LittleBigPlanet PS Vita Preview, Sackboy's mission is to learn the skills required to defeat the Puppeteer at the secret camp called La Marionetta. Lead by Colonel Flounder, the preview, given to us by Sony, opens up the first stage of the game, named after the secret camp, and allows a run-through of the ten levels in the stage, including two unlockable levels.
- Introduction
- A Carnival on the Run
- First Lessons In Locomotion
- Swing-Bop Acrobatics
- Flounder's Jump & Jive
- A Palace of the Peculiar
- Piano of Peril
- Destination: Destiny!
- Bounce Tappin'
- Wall or Nothing
For those who have played a LittleBigPlanet game before, will know the basics, but will learn the added functionality of the PS Vita controls. The newcomer to the series will have no problem picking up the game and learning all the tips and tricks. New ways to play are introduced to the player in LittleBigPlanet PS Vita. Sackboy will jump through various platforms on his mission to completing each level. The themes contain a gorgeous background to enhance the already amazing graphics. LittleBigPlanet PS Vita works extremely well on the system. The controls are extremely simple, with "X" to jump, "Square" to access the goodies you collected in the stages, and the left analogue stick to move about the stages. The touch screens add more control to the game. Moving blocks is a breeze, using the front and rear touch screens. The player can move blue blocks with the front touch screen, by either placing the block where you need it, or pushing it to the background, by simply tapping it. Green blocks utilize the back touch screen. These are blocks that can be moved from the background to the foreground. Once moved, they turn blue and can be moved back and forth by using both touch screens. The tilt feature is implemented and controls Sackboy's head, in the preview. From playing the games previously, you will remember that you can control Sackboy's gestures. On the PS Vita version, you hold down the left bumper and then use the left and right analogues to move his hands and you can make him nod or shake his head with the tilt feature. NEAR is also included to find other players in your area to challenge them to beat your score for various levels. the multiplayer modes will include pass'n'play, multi-touch, local same screen multiplayer versus, online multiplayer for up to four players, and more.
The Play, Create, Share ideology of LittleBigPlanet is back with various ways to customize the game to bring a splash of your own personality. Whether you are customizing your Sackboy or Sackgirl, or customizing the entire planet, everything and anything goes. You are the artist and the world you create is all depends on your imagination and creativity. The Popit is your luggage and key to the customization process. It holds various items collected in the game, from stickers to outfits. Players will not only have the Story mode to enjoy, but also hours and hours of fun with the user-generated levels. If you use the 3G or Wi-Fi connectivity, you can browse, download, and publish levels and games and even download created levels to play while you are offline.
I loved the simplicity of taking your own pictures, using the PS Vita camera, to use as stickers to decoreate in the game. Simply select the camera from your Pop-it, snap the picture, save it, and it is added to your items! It is that easy, not to mention fun.
The series has always been known for beautiful and vibrant graphics and great music and adorable sounds to match. The same goes for LittleBigPlanet PS Vita.
There is also an Arcade section that will offer five mini games. The one available to play in the preview is Tapling, where the player controls a dark orb through a dark and very dangerous setting by only utilizing the touch screen to move the creature. The mission is to save three white orbs in each stage, from their cages. The entire game of Tapling is not completed unless all three are saved in each of the six levels, which can get challenging.
With a total of six stages, or themes, and more than 45 new story levels, there is a lot to do in LittleBigPlanet PS Vita. Fans of the series and newcomers are both welcome to voyage into the game for the experience that awaits them, once it hits shelves on September 25th.
Here are some screenshots that I took of the preview, followed by the trailer. Click the thumbnails to enlarge the photo.
