{"id":1716,"date":"2012-11-20T20:19:42","date_gmt":"2012-11-20T20:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=1716"},"modified":"2012-11-21T17:03:36","modified_gmt":"2012-11-21T17:03:36","slug":"my-top-100-49-little-big-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=1716","title":{"rendered":"My Top 100: #49 &#8211; Little Big Planet"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_1720\" style=\"width: 946px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/936full-littlebigplanet-game-of-the-year-edition-cover.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1720\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1720\" title=\"936full-littlebigplanet-(game-of-the-year-edition)-cover\" src=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/936full-littlebigplanet-game-of-the-year-edition-cover.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"936\" height=\"1076\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/936full-littlebigplanet-game-of-the-year-edition-cover.jpg 936w, http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/936full-littlebigplanet-game-of-the-year-edition-cover-260x300.jpg 260w, http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/936full-littlebigplanet-game-of-the-year-edition-cover-890x1024.jpg 890w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 936px) 100vw, 936px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1720\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">2008 &#8211; Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (PlayStation 3)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>My relationship with this game didn&#8217;t start off all that well.\u00a0 I usually know within those first few minutes of playing a game, without a shadow of a doubt, whether I&#8217;ll enjoy it or not.\u00a0 I&#8217;m currently playing through <em>Assassin&#8217;s Creed<\/em>, wondering if it&#8217;ll get good any time soon&#8230;\u00a0 I&#8217;m guessing that it won&#8217;t.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, <em>Little Big Planet<\/em> was one of those popular games that I was curious to see what the fuss was about (see <em>AssCreed <\/em>above).\u00a0 I knew the art style and\u00a0Sackboy&#8217;s insane amount of cuteness and customizability would be right up Anita&#8217;s alley, but I wasn&#8217;t that convinced.\u00a0 I considered Sony\u00a0to be\u00a0the most\u00a0&#8220;adult&#8221; of this generation of consoles, what with Microsoft releasing games like <em>Viva\u00a0Pi\u00f1ata<\/em> and <em>Banjo\u00a0Kazooie<\/em>, while\u00a0Nintendo was being&#8230;\u00a0 well, Nintendo.<\/p>\n<p>How was I supposed to believe the house that <em>God of War<\/em> built could make a solid light-hearted\u00a0platformer?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Mu33Mk7P9dA\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I borrowed the game from a co-worker, and I was struck by how different the controls felt&#8230;\u00a0 much like the characters themselves, they felt <em>cushiony<\/em>.\u00a0 I&#8217;m not sure how else to describe it, but Sackboy really does\u00a0control like he&#8217;s a hacky sack with arms and legs.\u00a0 This isn&#8217;t a major detriment, or anything, but if you&#8217;re used to the spot-on precision of the\u00a0athletic speed and\u00a0jumps in <em>New Super Mario Bros. Wii<\/em>,\u00a0 <em>LBP<\/em>&#8216;s slightly slower (but every bit as challenging) pace will take a bit of getting used to.<\/p>\n<p>Not only did I not get *into* it, but I don&#8217;t think I actually *got* it right away.\u00a0 It took me a couple playthroughs of the first few levels to really understand what they were trying to accomplish.\u00a0 The levels were a bit dreary, the music was decidedly quirky, and a lot of the online content I played was slightly uninspired.<\/p>\n<p>I guess I was just being my typical impatient self.<\/p>\n<p>Levels start getting\u00a0pretty challenging a little later in the game.\u00a0 The whole &#8220;dragging&#8221; mechanic (where Sackboy can grab blocks or other things) combined with the game&#8217;s\u00a0unique physics\u00a0help create some extremely satisfying puzzles, and the co-op mode\u00a0adds\u00a0an\u00a0extra layer\u00a0of difficulty without\u00a0making you want to chuck your controller at your wife in frustration!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1732\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Donkey-Kong-Country-Returns-review-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1732\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1732\" title=\"Donkey-Kong-Country-Returns-review-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Donkey-Kong-Country-Returns-review-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"610\" height=\"340\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Donkey-Kong-Country-Returns-review-1.jpg 610w, http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Donkey-Kong-Country-Returns-review-1-300x167.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1732\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">I&#8217;m looking at you, Donkey Kong Country Returns&#8230;<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The online content, if you look in the right places, is actually pretty brilliant.\u00a0 Aside from\u00a0Sony&#8217;s\u00a0costume and sticker\u00a0DLC packages, which range\u00a0from Disney to <em>Metal Gear Solid<\/em> and anywhere in between, the level editor allows for every Tom, Dick\u00a0or Harriet to post and share their creations over the PlayStation Network.\u00a0 Even though I could probably try my skills at designing a fun level of my own, there are TONS\u00a0of people out there that are more creative than I am.\u00a0 I was quite\u00a0impressed by some of the levels I found online.\u00a0 The fact that it&#8217;s a Sony game doesn&#8217;t mean the online content can&#8217;t be jam-packed with references to IP&#8217;s from other companies!<\/p>\n<p>Seriously, there&#8217;s tons of <em>Mario<\/em>, <em>Mega Man<\/em>, <em>Zelda<\/em> and <em>Contra<\/em> stuff on there.\u00a0 Not all of it good, mind you, but the game&#8217;s online level rating system should be a pretty good indicator.\u00a0 The best level I actually played was one that made reference to several pop culture phenomenons at once; <em>Indiana Jones,<\/em>\u00a0<em>Jaws, Star Wars,<\/em> <em>Star Trek <\/em>and a batch of others.\u00a0 Pretty awesome!<\/p>\n<p>Finally, the\u00a0art style\u00a0reminded me of a\u00a0book I used to read when I was quite young, and although it was\u00a0one I remember enjoying, it was one that also freaked me out a bit at the same time.\u00a0 I&#8217;m 100% sure that it wasn&#8217;t Veggie Tales, or whatever that popular kids series is called.<\/p>\n<p>It was a collection of pictures (not drawings) of vegetables with eyes, mouths and noses painted on.\u00a0 Peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms; you name a common vegetable, and it was more than likely a character in the book.\u00a0 Anyway, they were an adventurous bunch, and got themselves into a few pickles (HA!) along the way.<\/p>\n<p>It was as though some guy was looking through his pantry one day, got bored and built &#8220;sets&#8221; for his veggies in his own kitchen, gave them faces and a story, took pictures,\u00a0then sold it to a publishing company as a children&#8217;s book.\u00a0 The way the veggies looked actually made me want to never touch vegetables again&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>That explains a lot, actually.\u00a0 Yay, meat!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1734\" style=\"width: 1456px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/beef.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1734\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1734\" title=\"beef\" src=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/beef.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1446\" height=\"1106\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/beef.jpg 1446w, http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/beef-300x229.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/beef-1024x783.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1446px) 100vw, 1446px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1734\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thanks to that book, this platter of beef tenderloin would be an acceptable meal, to me.<br \/>Also, once I find that book (it&#8217;s buried, but not buried too far), I&#8217;ll be sure to post pictures of it!<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; My relationship with this game didn&#8217;t start off all that well.\u00a0 I usually know within those first few minutes of playing a game, without a shadow of a doubt, whether I&#8217;ll enjoy it or not.\u00a0 I&#8217;m currently&#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=1716\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,8,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-little-big-planet","category-playstation-3","category-top-100"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1716"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1743,"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1716\/revisions\/1743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}