When was the last time you turned on a game and, within five seconds, had a huge smile plastered across your face? I don't mean the kind of smile that we all have when a gigantic rocket launcher is given to us or the ones when watching Lara Croft cutscenes. I'm talking about a smile that raises itself involuntarily, that just pops up out of nowhere and is as natural as the rising sun.

This is what LittleBigPlanet does to me. Not only does it give me those smiles time and again, it also urges me to write a blog about why I love the game so much. The story mode is full of those quirky and strange levels that Nintendo was once so capable of providing us in titles like Banjo Kazooie and Super Mario 64. It just oozes personality and the physics, for me anyway, are one of the best things about the game. Mistimed and miscalculated leaps can often result in being vapourised by fire. Yes, this can be frustrating but it's not the kind of game that makes you want to throw the control pad into your neighbour's kitchen. It makes for some hilarious multiplayer moments and single player ones to boot.


Not as good as my level

I'm almost finished creating my first level and have already played levels by JackOfNoTrades and Takeshi, which helped give me further insight into how their minds work. OK, maybe or maybe not, but it did make me appreciate the beauty of the Destructoid community even more and I can't wait for people to have a go at mine. No doubt I'll write a blog about it here.

But, yeah, creating is so intuitive and easy it becomes as fun as playing the story mode. I have spent more than a few hours on my own level, granted, but I am getting the same buzz as when I first picked up a guitar and strummed my first chord. It is that fulfilling. Watch out for plenty of fire, some zombies, a deadly spiked wheel and a giant puppy. It may not beat Takeshi's dirty pants but what will? Oh, and I got an awesome tank from JackOfNoTrades, which is greatly appreciated.

This game is a slow burner in terms of sales but I think as time goes on it will continue to creep up and up. Particularly with great word-of-mouth like this.