Waypoints: Hands-On LittleBigPlanet Beta

After spending some time with the beta, Adam LaMosca finds that playing LittleBigPlanet's levels isn't just fun, it's educational and inspirational.

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That just about sums up my feelings on the beta, and - judging from what I've played - the game as a whole. I'm writing a review right now, and I'm discovering just how easy it is to use hyperbole after hyperbole when talking about how it all comes together.

Your preview was both eloquent and grounded; but most importantly, nailed what the LittleBigPlanet experience is all about.

I didn't get into the beta, but my friend did. Being told that something is awesome and experiencing it are very different things.

My first intro to LBP was a few of the first levels in Co-Op mode, where of course, I was a semi-spectator as I was shown around by my exited friend who would tell me about everything she'd done.

Even though I didn't get my mitts on the game proper, I can see the potential for this game is huge. As the preview says, everything looks like and acts like everything should do. And on my friends Hi Def telly, it looked amazing.

User Generated content I've always enjoyed. Back in my C64 days the Shoot 'Em Up Construction Kit stole a lot of my time. Years later, Tenchu 2 and Timesplitters 2 had me making all sorts of maps. However, a lot of the fun of making all this stuff was the fact I'd be sharing these homebrew levels with my friends. If the level creation is as easy and as innovative as I'm led to believe, I'll buy LBP... and not buy any new games for a while.

My friend got the beta. We played it for hours switching off between 6 people. It was not that fun. I went back to my dorm afterwards and compared it to another game: Tony Hawks Pro Skater for the N64. Needless to say, THPS is still a great game compared to more recent titles.