When I spotted LittleBigPlanet on a PSP at a Sony event in New York on Tuesday, I gravitated toward it like a moth to a flame. The console version was one of my favorite games of 2008, so I’ve been excited at the prospect of LittleBigPlanet on the go since it was announced. I was a little nervous about seeing my beloved game scaled down to fit the PSP’s system capabilities, but it turned out that there was no need to worry. It only took a few minutes with the PSP version to show me that the game is exactly what it should be. LittleBigPlanet PSP may be smaller, but it appears to have just as much heart.

After grabbing the PSP, I played through a couple of introductory levels, which had an Australian theme instead of the returning to the imaginary worlds of the PS3 version. “Walkabout” was a little reminiscent of “The Gardens”, the group of early levels in last year’s LittleBigPlanet, but still stood out with area-specific things like giant boomerangs to climb and drag. I’m really excited to see what other regions the PSP version of the game will take me to, and having Sackboy encounter cultural references from around the globe seems like it will bring some interesting variety to the series.



The PSP was hooked up to a TV screen, so when I started playing, I instinctively watched the television while using a PSP as a controller. The screen looked stretched and a little blurry, not at all like the LittleBigPlanet I know and love. Then I realized what I was doing, and I looked down at the PSP screen, only to be taken aback by what I saw. The game looks fantastic on the PSP. Obviously, Sony’s handheld isn’t capable of PS3-level graphics, but textures and objects were clear and crisp. The materials making up each level were distinctive, and I could easily tell the difference between dimensions, with Sackboy sliding back and forth effortlessly.

The pop-up menu system seems to work just as it did in LittleBigPlanet PS3. While I didn’t get a chance to mess around with the level creation, it will be an option. Naturally, you will also be able to customize your Sackboy to your liking. I did take a quick glance at the sticker menu, and I noticed a lot of new decorative objects in the demo; the PSP version isn’t just recycling everything from the PS3 version, although there will some returning objects and costume choices.



Simply said, LittleBigPlanet PSP seems like it will be exactly what you want it to be: LittleBigPlanet in your hands. I only got to play through a couple of levels, but it left me wanting more. It looks and feels like it should, and having 30 new levels across seven areas is something I am really looking forward to. Sharing levels with the PSP online community should be interesting as well; I hope that I find as many impressive and varied community levels as I have in the PS3 version. LittleBigPlanet PSP will be out this holiday season, both in stores and as a downloadable game for the PSP Go, and it just might be my most wanted handheld game of the year.