E3 2009: Hands on with LittleBigPlanet on PSP

Already having wooed the console crowd, Sackboy is packing up his sack and taking things on the road in the PSP iteration of LittleBigPlanet. Touting the same easy-going platforming gameplay as its big brother, could be just as much of a hit if our hands on with it during E3 2009 is any indication.

A brand new set of levels await Sackboy on PSP, two of which were on display. The first, entitled "Gift of the Grab," exhibited an Australian outback motif with desert landscaping, creatures, and funny quips. Intended as an introduction to the game's grab mechanic, the level involved various platform challenges from moving boxes to swinging across fiery gaps all while collecting shiny little point bubbles.

The controls mirror those used in the PlayStation 3 version: movement is dictated by the analog stick, with flicks up and down sliding Sackboy among three planes. A tap of the X button results in a jump, while holding down the R button next to certain objects causes Sackboy to latch on with his sack hands. At any time you can hit the square button to open the pop-it menu, which lets you reset Sackboy at the last activated checkpoint or access the stickers menu.

Special trigger stickers activate switches placed throughout the game, yielding prize and point bubbles or simply prompting a contraption that moves you forward through the level. Since you won't have all the trigger stickers needed to activate every switch you come across on your first run through a level, you're encouraged to take a second pass to grab any goodies you may have missed.

In this demo level, however, there weren't any spectacular prizes awaiting behind the switches. Instead, the focus was purely on getting Sackboy through a maze of cute challenges. Lizards slinking across the screen were easily dispatched with a well-timed jump onto the brain, while fiery rocks could be overcome by grabbing onto hanging sponges swung with left-right flicks of the analog stick.

Later on, koalas lifted Sackboy to raised sections of the level. A quick grab of their fur triggered the koalas to scurry up the eucalyptus trees. The level finishes with boomerangs that twirling at high speed. Latching onto an edge, we were able to fling Sackboy into the air to catch a second boomerange, which we then used to fling him to the level's end. While none of it was particularly challenging, the emphasis on physics means the platforming is not just about executing certain moves, but doing them with enough momentum and at the right angle.

Both are critical in the second level we played, "Surfing Mini-Game." Here Sackboy stands on a surfboard before a cresting wave to collect point bubbles that appear. The bubbles sway with the motion of the ocean, as does the surfboard which tilts left and right like a seesaw. As the surfboard tilts and moves forward, you have to time jumps to collect point bubbles without falling off the board. Miss a bubble and the creatures of the deep surface to harass you; fall off the surfboard and the level ends.

The straightforward platforming play ensures LittleBigPlanet will be instantly accessible. The real fun, though, will come from customizing your Sackboy with new items and stickers, as well as creating your own levels and sharing them with others. While these features weren't available, there are empty spaces in the menus we flipped through that clearly will house these options.

We're hopeful that the game goes one step further, allowing you to share content with the PlayStation 3 version of the game. The ability to venture online and play around in the thousands of levels that have already been generated on that platform would be an immediate bonus. Even without such a feature, LittleBigPlanet should be well worth the investment come fall with its adorable style and accessible gameplay.