Reviews

Small but perfectly formed

The original LittleBigPlanet was a must-buy for PS3 owners - a beautifully crafted, uniquely styled platform game which had the added bonus of giving players the chance to design their own levels. The PSP version looks set to be a similarly essential purchase for fans of Sony's handheld, being just as pretty, polished and fun to play.

Once again the motto of LittleBigPlanet PSP is 'Play, Create, Share'. But this isn't just a plain old port of the PS3 game - there are 30 brand new levels and seven different locations to explore. The environments are brilliantly designed, and complete with all manner of obstacles to overcome and fun objects to play with. Favourite items from the original game, like the awesome jetpack, are present and correct.

Boys and their toys

Also returning is Sackboy, the hero of the first game. He (or she, if you prefer to design yourself a Sackgirl) is just as charming as ever and can be dressed up with even more cute outfits and adorable accessories. Sackboy can run, jump, fly and swing his way around levels with ease. It feels as though the controls have been tightened up slightly for the PSP game - there's not quite the same degree of floatiness to characters' movements, which makes it easier to control them. It also helps that there are now only two planes of depth rather than three, which could lead to confusion in the PS3 game.

But while the improved controls make getting around easier there's still plenty here to challenge the most hardened of platforming veterans. The difficulty curve can be quite steep once you're through the early batch of levels and some of the trickier sections can be seriously frustrating. Happily though, checkpoints pop up more frequently than in the previous version.

Choose your own adventure

There's incentive to keep going when things get tough in the form of all those costumes, stickers and objects to collect. You can use the stuff you've picked up to design your own environments with the fully-fledged level editor. The game gives you complete freedom to explore your creativity and try out different ideas, and it's amazing what you can produce if you put in the effort.

In fact, the only thing which might limit your designs is your own skill level. Making levels which are fun to play can be quite tough, and good deal of patience and commitment are required to be successful.

More, more, more

The good news is you can ignore the level editor altogether if you want and treat LittleBigPlanet PSP as an excellent platform game, plain and simple. In any case there's a potentially endless supply of new content to enjoy as you're able to download and share user-created levels - either ad hoc or via an internet connection. The downloading process is simple and fast and the ratings system makes it easy to find levels which are worth playing.

So all in all, LittleBigPlanet PSP has just as much to offer as the PS3 game. There is, however, one exception - this version doesn't feature a multiplayer mode. Apparently this is down to the technical limitations of the hardware rather than a conscious decision on the developers' part, but it's still a bit of a shame.

Great things come in little packages

However, when considered in the context of everything else the game has going for it, the lack of multiplayer isn't a huge issue. There's plenty to be going on with thanks to the superb single-player game, the excellent level editor and the option to download more content.

LittleBigPlanet PSP has all the charm and style of the PS3 game in a portable package, and that means it's well worth checking out.

GAME's Verdict

What's Good?

• Brilliant platforming fun.
• Total freedom to get creative.
• Superb presentation, audio and visuals.

What's Bad?

• No multiplayer mode.
• Frustrating in places.
• Level editor requires patience.