When you have a computer games presentation beside a TV with the distractingly great trailers for 'The Last of Us', 'Assassins Creed 3' and 'Beyond: Two Souls' playing beside it and not to mention having a PS3 with four controllers and a playable version of Playstation All-Stars (aka Smash Brothers PS3) behind us, it can only be fair to say that Sony are confident that the two showcased games are going to grab our attention. Disappoint they did not. They offered two fascinating opposites from the guaranteed successful gaming franchise on the Vita to the distinctly different Wonderbook game on the PS3. First up, the Vita game. And by 'the Vita game', I am being quite literal as I can say that from experiencing it first hand, Little Big Planet Vita seems guaranteed to be the Vita's killer app.
LittleBigPlanet Vita was described here as the definitive version of the series to date and from what was shown it was hard to dismiss this as hype. I will assume everyone is fully aware of this series and I'll avoid going over the basics in any great detail. Simply put, LBP Vita continues the high standards from the platforming series famous for its unique art style and user created content. LBP here takes full advantage of the Vita's WiFi & 3G functions, with producer Tom O'Connor promising that user created levels are sized so that they could be downloaded even over the 3G network. Considering previous entries of the series now have user created levels ranging in the million, this means that 3G users arguably will be getting a game with, for all intents and purposes, unlimited levels accessible anywhere. An interesting note is that the vast majority of these user create levels so far created in the play test did not have anything to do with traditional LBP gameplay. O'Connor estimated that 90% of the user generated content were effectively that of original game designs, many of which incorporating the touch screen. One creation demonstrated, for example, was that of defending food from a swarm of ants by crushing them by pinching the front and rear screen. The examples shown were crude by app store standard but considering the limited time the play testers have had so far and the fact that these are all essentially free apps, they suggested that LGB Vita would effectively become a gaming equivalent of a free version of the Appstore. Of course, that does mean having to shift through the piles of bad games to find the few gems but, ehh, isn't that true of the appstore too. Near features have also been incorporated allowing greater interactions between users.
While I, the lazy person that I am, was interested in the output of others hard work, I am sure that there are many keen to know of the tweeks made to the editing tools. First, and foremost, is that touchscreen controls can be used to control everything. The touch controls demonstrated seemed easy and intuitive to use, although I would warn that I was watching a member of the development team operating them so it is perhaps unsurprising that he could manage it so well. Traditional control options are available for those cynical to the touchscreen but I have to say, that while not the greatest advocate of non-traditional control interfaces, it did seem highly appropriate having tactile contact whilst creating your masterpieces. LBP offers the most wide ranging variety of objects so far, including those you can create with your vita's camera, but the thing that most endured me to the game was the previous DLC such as costumes are transferable to the Vita (and Vice Verse). Something both my wallet and my desire to recreate my own Sackboy is highly appreciated of.
The big issue for me though was the one player mode. While the user generated content may be its biggest selling point, I was always far more captivated by the unique visual designs created by the developers. LBP and LBP 2 on the PS3 were full of levels that had so much happening on screen that it was easy to lose focus just to see the far ranging consequences your actions had on the levels. Being so gorgeous that it could distract me was was endured me to the game but the same was true of Rayman Origins on the PS3 I had found its conversion to the smaller Vita screen simply sucked a lot of the personality out of it. I, therefore, almost let out a little shout of relief when I took a quick shot at the game prior to the presentation. The balance between maintaining the screen close enough to have a sizeable playable character but far enough that the backgrounds could also star was maintained perfectly. Please believe me that there is no hyperbole when I say this, I honestly felt that I was looking at a PS3 version of the game as I played. Controls were tight (indeed from my little play through I noticed that certain things such as the pop up menu ran smoother than its PS3 cousins), loading in levels was quick and the touchscreen incorporated into the gameplay was far more tolerable than usual. O'Connor claimed that players will find the touchscreen mixed with traditional controls completely natural but until I get more hands on time with the game I cannot really say much more than it bothered me far less than other attempts.
As much as I liked LBP, I had grown a tiny bit tired of my Sackboy and to be frank was going to give this entry to the series a miss. From my very brief time with it and seeing the other features in action, I feel safe saying this will be the Vita's killer app. I really did not expect myself to feel that way before the presentation but this fully incorporates the Vita's features, expands upon the tools used to create so many new levels in the LGB series and has re-created the same beautiful game I have come to expect of the series on the Vita's screen. Released later in the year, but frankly, nowhere near soon enough for myself.
