One of the most innovative games of this generation has made its way to the PSP. LittleBigPlanet takes its grandiose user level design to the smaller screen while managing to keep the large scale creation tools intact. The same fun gameplay is there, but a few issues make it slightly less than ideal.

The first thing you’ll notice when firing up LittleBigPlanet on your PSP is how well the game translates to the smaller screen. Platforming controls work well with the PSP’s analog nub and you’ll feel right at home if you played the PS3 iteration. The single player campaign is a lot of fun with some nice variety in the levels, but the big thing here is level creation, which is surprisingly almost as vast and varied as its console big brother. You’ll be able to make some amazing levels if that’s your thing, or just go online and download anyone else’s levels and play offline whenever you choose. If you’re going to be on a trip away from WiFi, being able fire up the game and download a bunch of levels and play whenever you want is a nice touch.

I have a few issues with LittleBigPlanet on the PSP that keeps it from being a killer app. Load times are entirely too long on the UMD version of the game (I haven’t had a chance to play the download version yet, so I can’t compare). The single player campaign is a bit on the short side, taking me only about 4.5 to 5 hours to complete. If you’re OCD about collecting everything, there’s a bit more time in there, but if not, you’re limited in the amount of included content. There aren’t too many great levels as of press time, but the game is in its infancy, so I expect that to change. The last and biggest complaint is the lack of multiplayer. I loved playing through levels with friends on the PS3 and not being able to do that, even in ad-Hoc mode, is a big disappointment.

If you enjoyed LittleBigPlanet on the PS3, it’s well worth picking up the PSP version. If you hated it on the PS3, this iteration won’t change your mind. Having access to WiFi to download new levels is a must, so keep that in mind. It’s a great game for creators and players alike and I have a feeling it will only get better in the coming months as more and more levels are created. Hopefully someday soon Media Molecule will allow PS3 level creators to export their content to the PSP, which would further open up the world.

[A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review purposes.]