LittleBigPlanet

[nickgutierrez]

I've mentioned this game in another thread, but I thought it deserved one of its own. This looks like it will be one of the most fun, interesting, and creative games that has ever found its way to platforms. Here's a http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on4OC6F5huE">link.

I guarantee you that you can't watch that video without laughing. You just can't do it. That sense of humor, the fantastic-looking physics engine, and the (from all reports) very flexible level creation tools make this one worth looking forward to.

[Bjorn Against]

1. One of my friends at work was able to play this at PAX in Seattle...

He is a self proclaimed X-Box fanboy who is often very critical of Sony, but he was absolutely full of praise for Little Big Planet. He says it is awesome, far better than anyone even thinks it is going to be. The more I see the more excited I get, to think of all the endless possibilities with the level design features. I am really excited to make the Jesus goes to Republicanland level, and I can't wait to see what other people come up with. There are very few games that can truly be called revolutionary, but I really think Little Big Planet will be considered to be a revolutionary game years into the future.

[nickgutierrez]

2. It's out!

What do we think?

[Bjorn Against]

3. I have played it a little bit, but this is one to put a lot of time in.

So far I have just played a few of the developer created levels, and spent a little time in the level creator tutorials. There is a lot to do in the level creator, and it is going to take some time to get good at it but the potential for this game is enormous. I have no doubt that once the community really gets going this will be the best platformer of all time, and will revolutionize gaming.

[nickgutierrez]

4. The servers are taking an absolute beating right now.

I guess it's to be expected, on release week, but online play is pretty laggy. The online levels are... not quite up to the developer's levels I've played through, but it's clear that the feature has a ton of potential. I can't wait to see what the community will come up with once they have a chance to play with the tools a little bit.

[Bjorn Against]

5. The servers seem a bit better tonight than the last two nights...

Although you are right, they do still lag a bit. Last night you couldn't even play online tonight things are at least getting better. Hopefully by next week all will be smooth. Yes, the developers levels do tend to be better but I have played a few very good user created levels and considering it just came out it is nice to see even a few good ones. Once people have the time to learn the tools I think we can look forward to some levels that are even better than what the developers created. If you ever want to play online my PSN ID is BjornAgainst, add me to your friends list if you feel like it. Any other DUers who are reading can feel free to add me as well.

[moggie]

6. It still seems laggy

Just tried online play for the first time. Playing a level alone is fine, but when another player joins it gets laggy as hell. Still, this is a seriously cute game. It'll take all my will power not to waste serious amounts of time on it.

[nickgutierrez]

7. I got some decent results by playing with router settings.

In the XMB, go to Settings > Network Settings > Settings and Connection Status List, and scroll all the way to the bottom. What is the UPnP and the NAT type?

(Should be "Available", and Type 2 - ideally, type 1, but you have to plug the PS3 directly into the modem for that.)

[moggie]

8. UPnP disabled, NAT type 2

My somewhat homebrew broadband setup (Debian router running rp-pppoe) isn't currently set up to support UPnP, but I have it forwarding UDP ports 3478-3658 to the ps3. Multiplayer performance is rather variable: sometimes excellent, other times lousy. A few times I've had lockups which required the console to be powered off. It's a shame, because how many games make you laugh out loud?