LittleBigPlanet PS Vita reviewed
LittleBigPlanet PS Vita is easily one of the year’s most anticipated games, even if you’re not a fan of the series. It promises to be a much-needed “killer app” for Sony’s new handheld, and claims to be an evolution in gameplay as compared to previous LittleBigPlanet games. Without question, LBPV has been put on top of a very high pedestal, and that is usually not a good thing. When a gaming community’s eagerness for a title reaches a fever pitch – as it has for this game – a certain degree of disappointment is usually the outcome. Indeed, even I had my doubts about how I would formulate my impressions, as I have had my hands on various versions of the game a few different times over the past six months. What could LBPV possibly do to impress me at this point? I was confident the game would be great, but I just wasn’t sure if it would live up to the community’s impossibly lofty expectations.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that LittleBigPlanet PS Vita was every bit as stellar as I ever dreamed, and then some.
The game kicks off pretty much the same way as every other LBP title: The player makes his or her way through a charming and clever introduction level, guided by the comfortingly familiar voice of Stephen Fry. Veteran players will find the majority of the initial tutorial videos unnecessary, but I found them quite entertaining and happily sat through them all. The player is then introduced to the game’s intriguing story which introduces Carnivalia, a whole new world in the LittleBigPlanet universe. The story seems to have a slightly darker overall tone to it – something I found very refreshing – but without taking itself too seriously. There’s plenty of humor throughout the story, including several moments that elicited audible, genuine laughs from me. (Note to self: Don’t play late at night while other people in the house are trying to sleep.) The story is somewhat predictable but extremely well written. You encounter a rag-tag selection of characters, help them in various ways, and then face a final confrontation. I always had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen next, but the way it happened often caught me by surprise. This was helped greatly by the uncannily stellar voice acting behind each of the main characters. The Unbelievable Otis and Mrs. Sunshine in particular deliver stand-out performances and alone are worth the price of admission.
Visually, LittleBigPlanet PS Vita is a treat. Each of the different worlds has a totally unique and fresh look, from the brooding and sinister Creepy Mansion levels to the slick and retro high-tech gleam of Jackpot City. It’s clear that a great deal of time was spent on materials and decorations that showcased each of the crisply defined themes, and it shows. More than that, the original artwork that has been poured into each of the levels is really inspiring. The amount of refinement and polish that has been applied to each of the story levels really makes them shine. The audio in LBPV has also been very carefully selected and complements each world perfectly, ranging from haunting melodies to pumping beats.
If you sit down and powergame through the entirety of story mode without bothering to collect too many prize bubbles, it only takes a few hours. It is no longer or shorter than other LBP games in this regard, and I was quite satisfied with the length. The real depth of LittleBigPlanet PS Vita’s story mode comes in its extensive replay value. There are hundreds of collectibles to be sought after, loads of side levels to unlock and play, and plenty of hidden areas to revisit once you’ve collected the right stickers to get past the sticker switches. As always, there are rewards for acing each level – this is definitely easier said than done. Upping the ante over previous versions of the game, LBPV also includes The Arcade, a collection of mini games that rival some of the best smartphone games available and are honestly quite a bit more fun. Each level has individual achievements which, for those interested in this sort of thing, are enabled on the back end using the handy dandy new Memorizer logic object. There are loads of outstanding new gameplay concepts to enjoy in both The Arcade as well as the story levels, but the stars of the show are those which make brilliant use of the Vita’s touch features. Now that’s how touch screen gaming is done. All in all, LBPV’s story mode is an enjoyable and highly replayable experience that has been well worth the wait.
There isn’t much I can say about create mode that hasn’t already been said. I could either write a 200 page novel, or summarize with a quick synopsis. Contrary to my instincts, I will go with the latter option. In a nutshell, create mode in LittleBigPlanet Vita represents the pinnacle of the series. It is refined without having been needlessly changed. It contradicts itself by being both immediately familiar and eye-openingly fresh all at the same time. Tiny new refinements and adjustments abound in every single menu and in every single interface, but the changes have been implemented in such a seamless manner you may not even notice right away what’s new. It just makes sense. There are a thousand little conveniences you always wish you had that are just there when you need them. Things like selecting an object for an emitter without capturing it first, zooming the camera while resizing a sticker, and subtly changing the position of a material in its layer all just mesh right in as though they weren’t there. You don’t know why create mode feels so phenomenal to use – it just does. PS3 veterans may be thrown off slightly by the lack of things like L2/R2 and L3/R3 buttons, but their functions have been replaced with on-screen hotkeys. Many other functions have been conveniently mapped to touch controls as well, so everything is right there when you need it. It’s very apparent that people who love the game are the ones who worked tirelessly to make it better.
No game is without its flaws, and no review is complete without pointing them out. The downfalls of LittleBigPlanet Vita are few and far between, but there are a couple minor nuisances that are worth mentioning. First and foremost, people are bound to complain about the comfort of the PS Vita hardware. This isn’t the fault of LBPV, of course, but after a few hours of hardcore creating I found my hands cramping up. This was due mostly to curling my fingers up in an effort to avoid touching the rear pad and altering the camera view. Rear touch camera control can be turned off in the options, but it’s a useful feature and I preferred to leave it on. An aftermarket grip attachment for my Vita made a world of difference – I would highly recommend anyone with hands larger than that of a Leprechaun pick up a similar accessory at their earliest convenience. Another minor problem I had was with the load times. For the record, they are actually pretty snappy and aren’t all that different from what you would experience in any other LittleBigPlanet game, but they aren’t exactly what I’d call short and sweet either. Saving and rewinding in create mode are a tiny bit slower as well, but not so much where they impair one’s experience. I am not a big fan of constant rewinding while creating anyway, so this didn’t particular point didn’t bother me at all, but I feel that it’s worth pointing out. For whatever reason, I have an instinctual need to point out three things I don’t like whenever I’m writing a review, and so far I only have two. My third and final gripe with the game is really a result of me desperately scraping the bottom of the proverbial barrel, and honestly isn’t a big deal at all. Regardless, I didn’t particularly care for the fact that the pod computer controls are purely touch based and don’t seem to have corresponding functions mapped to hardware buttons. I’m just fine and dandy with the touch screen interface – in fact I think it’s superb – but it’s just about the only place in the game where you don’t have buttons as an option. Odd.
To wrap this up (Or, put another way: tl;dr), LittleBigPlanet PS Vita is an amazing game. It has somehow managed to live up to the immense hype it built for itself while at the same time feeling charming and immediately accessible, regardless of whether or not you’re a fan of the series. Sure, there are a couple of minor hiccups here and there, but most players will be hard pressed to even notice them. The outstanding story mode and mind-boggling create mode are such an immense treat (to have in your pocket!), it’s an easy game to fall in love with. It is a system seller, a must-have, and a true killer app. If you’ve been second-guessing your recent purchase of a Vita, you can stop now. The fine folks at Tarsier and Double Eleven have really put together a masterpiece with this title, and my hat is off to them.
Go buy this game. NOW.
Pros and cons:
+ Outstanding and brilliantly presented story mode
- ..that is a little on the short side.
+ A gaggle of side levels and an unlockable Arcade more than make up for that
+ Loads of collectibles and achievements to chase after
++ Crazy epic create mode
- ..that sometimes makes your hands cramp
+ More new features than you can shake a stick at
+ Super slick menu touch interface
++ ..that is optional if you prefer buttons
+ Seamless online features
+ This is on a handheld!?
