Re: Little Big Planet (PS3)
IGN E3 2008: LittleBigPlanet Update
IGN E3 2008: LittleBigPlanet Update
We've seen it a ton of times before, but we'll never pass up a chance to pick up a DualShock 3 and take a Sackboy through a new level in LittleBigPlanet. I had the chance to check out a new level and some of the new pieces that have been added to the title today, and it's looking better than ever.
The biggest new addition on display were moving characters. We're not talking about a Sackboy, but enemies that you'll have to fight. The in-level enemy that we saw had a boxy body and rolled back and forth on its wheels while a spiked hammer swung back and forth. Defeating it required timing a jump, hopping onto its "back" and stealing its "brain", a circle in the middle of the foe.
The other major encounter that we saw was a boss fight at the end of the level. Three henchman waited in the background, and when the Media Molecule representative and I triggered the fight, one of them jumped to the top of the screen, scrolled left and right and dropped fiery logs down upon us. Our weapon here was a rollable, bouncy platform that we had to use to bounce the logs back up at the boss. The first one only dropped one log at a time, while the second dropped two (which made it rather tricky). The third and final henchman was much faster than its buddies, and required quick and calculated movement on our part to get rid of him.
The enemies that I played against were basic, to be sure, but they did offer something different than the standard platforming that we've been seeing all along. These behaviors were added to the game pretty recently, and MM plans to add many more before the game hits shelves in October. It's unknown right now whether users will be able to drop these pre-made creations into a level, or if they'll actually be able to mix and match behaviors to make things act differently, but the latter would certainly be awesome.
The level that we played looked like it took place in a giant furnace of some sort, with lava swirling below the bottom level. There were a ton of platforms hanging by chains tethered to their centers, requiring that we'd run to one side of them, wait for the other side to raise, and then run over and use the raised edge like a ramp.
While there were network problems that prevented us from seeing the full experience, we did get a quick glimpse at the publishing system. Once you've finished and saved a level, you can cue it up in a quick editing menu (load, erase, etc.) which features a giant Publish button. All you have to do is hit this option and it's live for everyone to play. Prior to uploading it, you have the option of marking the level as "Locked" so that others can't edit your creation.
Speaking of creating a level, Media Molecule has also recently added a free-float option to the editor. If you're creating a new level, you can press down on the D-Pad and you'll then be able to freely move in all directions. You're also on a separate plain than everything else, so if you create a giant box above you, it won't come crashing down and kill you while you're creating the level. You can tap down on the D-Pad at any time to switch floating on and off to allow you to test the level, which is nice.
The game was running very well here at the show, which is great, and the controls felt more responsive as a result. LittleBigPlanet is slated to ship this October.
The biggest new addition on display were moving characters. We're not talking about a Sackboy, but enemies that you'll have to fight. The in-level enemy that we saw had a boxy body and rolled back and forth on its wheels while a spiked hammer swung back and forth. Defeating it required timing a jump, hopping onto its "back" and stealing its "brain", a circle in the middle of the foe.
The other major encounter that we saw was a boss fight at the end of the level. Three henchman waited in the background, and when the Media Molecule representative and I triggered the fight, one of them jumped to the top of the screen, scrolled left and right and dropped fiery logs down upon us. Our weapon here was a rollable, bouncy platform that we had to use to bounce the logs back up at the boss. The first one only dropped one log at a time, while the second dropped two (which made it rather tricky). The third and final henchman was much faster than its buddies, and required quick and calculated movement on our part to get rid of him.
The enemies that I played against were basic, to be sure, but they did offer something different than the standard platforming that we've been seeing all along. These behaviors were added to the game pretty recently, and MM plans to add many more before the game hits shelves in October. It's unknown right now whether users will be able to drop these pre-made creations into a level, or if they'll actually be able to mix and match behaviors to make things act differently, but the latter would certainly be awesome.
The level that we played looked like it took place in a giant furnace of some sort, with lava swirling below the bottom level. There were a ton of platforms hanging by chains tethered to their centers, requiring that we'd run to one side of them, wait for the other side to raise, and then run over and use the raised edge like a ramp.
While there were network problems that prevented us from seeing the full experience, we did get a quick glimpse at the publishing system. Once you've finished and saved a level, you can cue it up in a quick editing menu (load, erase, etc.) which features a giant Publish button. All you have to do is hit this option and it's live for everyone to play. Prior to uploading it, you have the option of marking the level as "Locked" so that others can't edit your creation.
Speaking of creating a level, Media Molecule has also recently added a free-float option to the editor. If you're creating a new level, you can press down on the D-Pad and you'll then be able to freely move in all directions. You're also on a separate plain than everything else, so if you create a giant box above you, it won't come crashing down and kill you while you're creating the level. You can tap down on the D-Pad at any time to switch floating on and off to allow you to test the level, which is nice.
The game was running very well here at the show, which is great, and the controls felt more responsive as a result. LittleBigPlanet is slated to ship this October.
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