LittleBigPlanet - Highly Recommended Community Levels

Digital-Nitrate · Nov 10, 2008

OK, so one of the best things about LBP are the limitless numbers of great community levels, of which many can for some people be even better than any of the main story levels. At the very least they often offer a far more unique gaming experience, some focused on music, others on art, some are tributes towards popular games, movies, books, etc. Some are designed to replicate classic 8-bit level games from the past, and so on.

The LBP interface does give each gamer a lot of options and tools to help find the type and quality of community levels they are interested in, such as the "Cool Levels" option, searching by descriptive "Tags", as well as a search option where you can put in any word or words to help find levels of a specific interest or user.

In addition, you can scan over levels looking for those that have been played the most and or have received the most "hearts".

You can even find some great community levels by looking at your PSN friends' LBP profiles. The second page in their profiles lists all the community levels they have hearted with direct links that take you to those levels. The third page lists all the creators they have hearted, with direct links to the profiles of those creators, and thus access to all of the levels they have created.

However, despite all these features that allow you to find some great levels, I still think it would be nice if we had a thread, like this one, where people can post the name, creator, and a description of levels they have played and think others would have a lot of fun playing them as well.

I'll then keep a master list of those levels in this first post for people to be able to quickly refer to in the future.

Digital-Nitrate · Nov 10, 2008

I'll post some of my favorite levels soon enough, but just to get things off to a good start, recently Alex Evens, co-founder of Media Molecule, published a Top 5 list of favorite community levels/creators "so far":

LittleBigPlanet is almost here in the UK. The game has already been in widespread use through 100,000 beta testers and the release of the title in the US, so when you do unwrap your copy on the 5th you’ll be treated to a raft of great levels.

So what does Alex Evans of Media Molecule think of the user generated content so far? We got a chance to sit down with Alex this weekend at GameCity 3 in Nottingham and ask him that very question…

We tried where possible to get screenshots, video and the names of the creators. If you are the creator of any of these levels, drop us a line and we’ll make sure any missing info is updated.

1. No Surprises by HappyBivouac

“Despite the title, this level really surprised me. Other people had made music levels, including us, which were revealing the mechanics of how the music was sequenced. He was the first guy to take a song and incorporate it without showing all the triggers behind it. He hid all that stuff and whilst we enjoyed ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’, it was great to see someone use the technique without showing all the tremendous hard work required to make it possible.”

2. Sackworld by ???

“Sackworld came from the beta. In fact, I’ve actually played the beta more than I have the final game! Sackworld is relentlessly inventive. It’s not really balanced - I would have gone nuclear if it was a developer level - but you’ll play through it and you’ll be saying ‘oh my gosh, that’s a good idea’ repeatedly. It’s just full of great ideas.”

3. The Horror of ‘44 by Foil

“I didn’t actually play this through - to my shame - but it was a level from very early on. What makes it cool is it was one of the first to really strive for a different look and feel; it was all in black & white for example. Kudos goes to the creator for striving to create that ambience across the level.”

4. The House of Fun by Jeff

“I’m cheating a little here because I don’t think he has actually published it. It was built by one of our QA guys. What’s amazing about it is that it is easily as well balanced as any of the developer levels. He uses a really cool mechanic we hadn’t thought of; it’s a long and thin cloth block which you grab hold of and you repeatedly jump and grab to progress. So this is a public plea for him to publish it - so Jeff, get it done!”

5. Various levels by Geosautus

“For my fifth pick I’m going to choose a creator rather than one level. We interviewed him for the MM blog. I’ve never met him or her, and we’re not endorsing Geosautus officially, but it is worth going through all the levels he or she has created. When I was creating levels I got obsessed with this one mechanic and ended up putting it in every level - a kind of pinball flipper that launched you in the air. Geosautus has put together some really great levels but what I appreciate is the creativity; the mechanics, ideas and execution are different each time.”

Here’s a look at World of Colour by Geosautus

We’d like to thank Alex Evans for sparing us some of his valuable time.

What’s amazing is that most of these levels were created in the beta. According to Alex the beta had only around 5% of the built in objects and functionality the final product has available - which makes me both intrigued and, at the same time, slightly scared about the future possibilities within LittleBigPlanet.

FoolKiller · Nov 12, 2008

I think that the God of War - Demon Skull level is one of the best out there. I don't remember the creator's name though. I'll check that and come back.

Digital-Nitrate · Nov 17, 2008

Here are some more levels worth checking out that were part of a recent official developer contest:

GamePro Wins LittleBigContest!
Posted on 11/12/08 by David Smith // Media Molecule

Hi everyone! With the media being all over LittleBigPlanet, we couldnt resist but to have a LittleBigContest among the editors to see who really knows what they write about! And after weeks of looking through the levels, playing them and deciding which one we felt was worthy of the bragging rights and the grand prize of a 40 Bravia HD television for their office, Ive come up with the winner.

So, without further ado the winner of the LittleBigContest is AIR, SEA and LAND submitted by GamePro Magazine!

Its obvious that a lot of effort went into this level. It just keeps going and going. Its also brutally hard in a couple of places, but that just makes it more satisfying when you finish it. The theme of using lots of different vehicles worked really well. Ive seen lots of hot air balloons, rocket sleds and handful of walkers in other levels but I was happy to see that the designer had tried something a bit new with each vehicle. I chose this level as the winner simply because it kept surprising me with new ideas and felt nicely challenging.

So, congratulations to GamePro for a job well done!

There were other submissions that clearly deserve honorable mentions. These include Destructoid submitted by Destructoid.com and Smile-Time Apocalypse! Submitted by GamesRadar.com.

Destructoid

This level seems like a twisted version of our own intro level where you see images of everyone who worked on the game. I kept getting lost because there was so many things to see and play with, but the variety was big enough that it always felt interesting. It must have been a lot of fun to make but also must have taken a long time.

Smile-Time Apocalypse!

A very dark and twisted level. It made me laugh more than I probably should have. Seeing the burning trees as you enter the level was quite unexpected and along with the lighting a music, sets a very different tone to what you see in most LBP levels. The giant zombie was my favourite section. A nice level of difficulty and satisfying to destroy.

Thank you to all who submitted entries! All the levels were great and definitely worth the time spent playing.

For anyone who wants to check these levels out, you can find them by their titles on the U.S. servers.

Keep on playing LittleBigPlanet and see you online!

Digital-Nitrate · Nov 17, 2008

Here is Wired Magazine's Top 10 User Created Levels as of two weeks ago:

The most awesome feature of the upcoming puzzle-platformer game LittleBigPlanet is its intuitive, on-the-fly level editor that lets players create their own surprisingly detailed run-and-jump games.

After concocting their levels, players can push a button and share them online as easily as posting a YouTube video. Sony has invited thousands of gamers to test their level-designing chops with a scaled-back beta version of the PlayStation 3 game. LittleBigPlanet will be in stores Nov. 21.

Here are ten of the best user-created levels we've found so far, and the names of their creators.

1. LittleBigColossus by Danielsan88

The best LittleBigPlanet level we've found so far is a take on Sony's brilliant game Shadow of the Colossus. It's more of a loving homage than parody: It captures the original's atmosphere perfectly, with blowing wind and a horse's neighing the only sounds to break the silence. It's much less challenging than the real thing, but feels eerily similar.

Defining moment: The final fight against a giant, lumbering colossus.

2. Hollow Bastion by DavisTheDarkest

One of the most interesting levels, Hollow Bastion takes happy-go-lucky LittleBigPlanet and transforms it into a haunted house full of blood, dead things and eerie screams.

It's a challenging level, too, with some precision jumping required and wheels of death that rotate quickly and fling you off them, but the atmosphere is what makes it great. (Also the fact that all of the text is in Italian.)

Defining moment: The giant Godzilla monster that stomps through the garden, accompanied by a chorus of shrieks.

3. Escape the Cave by zero2kz

Now we come to the cream of the crop: User creations that feel like real, polished videogame levels.

Escape the Cave features multiple pathways and a variety of different challenges and secrets. Players trying for a high score on the online leaderboards can explore everywhere and try to complete the "race" segment in the middle of the level more quickly.

Defining moment: Traipsing over the skulls of less fortunate explorers.

4. The Heist, Part 1 by jiggles

LittleBigPlanet does have its limits. Each level is self-contained; you can't string them together to create a continuous, persistent game.

But some designers are already creating stories, like "The Heist," that span multiple levels. In the first part of this adventure, you've got to rob a bank by dodging some robotic guards and cracking its passcode. In the second level, you run from the cops and end up in jail.

Defining moment: Dodging PC Nasty's electrified hands while waiting for the sponge elevator. (You had to be there.)

5. Captain Sackbeard's Treasure by Burning_Out

Yarr! Take to the high seas in this pirate-themed level. The centerpiece of the stage is a giant pirate ship, with a massive cannon located below decks. You'll sit in the captain's chair and pull a lever to move the ship forward and backward in search of treasure, firing the cannon at a creepy, bat-infested cave to clear obstructions. Eventually you'll disembark.

Defining moment: Figuring out that Captain Sackbeard's downed ship has all the same features as yours, and that it's a clue as to how to defeat him.

6. Houston, We Have a Problem by Dead_Air

Some early LittleBigPlanet levels have explored the idea of telling a brief story with a few different settings. In this level, you climb up a tower and blast off in a giant rocket, landing in space. After riding in a lunar rover and encountering aliens, you return home. It's more about exploration than challenge.

Defining moment: When the electrified aliens start launching themselves at you.

7. Duckroll mobile by Tempy-kun

Many boring, short or otherwise forgettable levels have already flooded the LittleBigPlanet servers -- the fate of all user-generated content schemes.

This level is just a riff on duckrolling, the soon-to-be-forgotten internet meme that spawned the far more popular Rickroll.

Defining moment: So why is this here? Because even silly levels like these have serious benefits: Users can take the Duckroll mobile and use it in their own levels. It'll still contain the original creator's ID in the metadata.

8. Red Rings of Burninating by gevurah22

LittleBigPlanet is a PlayStation 3 exclusive, meaning that its early adopters are die-hard Sony fans. Naturally, several of the game's levels poke fun at the competition.

The first thing you'll do in this level is fight an evil contraption made of Xbox parts. Then you'll descend into a hellish maze filled with some of the most devious traps we've found in one of these levels so far.

Defining moment: Having to navigate a tightly wound maze of deadly fire while riding a jetpack, with the camera zoomed in really tight.

9. Takeshi's Castle by LonERecoN

Many of LittleBigPlanet's beta-test levels are modeled after other games, movies and TV shows. This level is modeled after Takeshi's Castle, a well-known Japanese game show that aired in the United States as MXC.

LonERecoN's brief level, which remakes three different games from the TV show, is less challenging than it is funny, as hapless competitors run on rolling logs or slide downhill in a tea bowl.

Defining moment: Actually getting the teacup to go down the hill with you inside it.

10. AsianHeights by Plugpin

AsianHeights incorporates many of the things that amateur designers can instantly create with LittleBigPlanet's editor: jumping challenges, puzzles and mazes. Many of the parts -- like the background music, the water wheels and the skateboard -- are prefabricated, but LittleBigPlanet allows players to mix and mash these elements into unique challenges.

Defining moment: Ascending into the clouds, which, in a unique aesthetic touch, are made of blocks of wood and strung together with pieces of rope.

Digital-Nitrate · Dec 10, 2008

I tell you, the comment section in levels can lead to some amazing finds!

I recently created a new level as a x-mas gift to help aid those who would like to get the Share Trophy, but don't have a lot of spare time to play 150 full length levels. I also threw in a few prizes. In addition, as a bonus I mention that if they post a comment, thus leaving me a link to their LBP profiles, that I would visit their profile and play their levels, and heart them and their levels accordingly... thus also aid them in getting the Create trophy.

So I checked back, and visited the LBP profiles of those who left comments and low and behold, they lead me to some truly remarkable levels... one of which IMO is one of the best levels I've played and deserves to be on everyone's Must Play list.

It's called Sackman Savior by AngelMhor. You can try using the LBP search feature, but if that doesn't work, you can find it by going to my LBP profile (either by doing a LBP search, or if I'm on your friend's list, just click on me in the My Friends section on the Info Moon). From there press the R1 button to flip through my hearted levels. I believe Sackman Savior is located in the Antarctic area.

You can also keep pressing R1 until you get to the globe with all the creators I have hearted, and look for AngelMhor.

You can also find a direct link to her LBP profile, and thus her level, by going to the comment section of my new level:

Quick Share and Create Trophies with Prizes v1.1

When looking on the first page of my profile, thus the LBP globe with my levels, you'll find it located in the middle of the Atlantic ocean.

It is well worth the effort, as Sackman Savior is a fantastic level to play! 👍

In addition to that, another user, drbert44, who posted a comment in my new level also has made several levels that are definitely worth checking out.

I was particularly impressed by his Planetoid level, although it should be called The Zero Gravity Car!... it's an incredibly creative concept. 👍

His R a c e level (yes, there are spaces between each letter), is another fun level, with a great looking pirate ship that you get to ride over an ocean... the rest is a long maze like route via the Sensei’s hot air balloon machine that you use to take you to the Volcano in the main story levels.

He also has a really nice looking Christmas theme level, appropriately called Help Santa. In it, you'll find all sorts of Holiday cheer, including a marvelous little reproduction of Santa's workshop, and you even get to drive Santa's sled... lead by who else... Rudolph. 👍

His wife also made a very nice level. I can't recall the name off hand, but it will mention in the description.

These are all fantastic levels that I highly recommend. If you are having trouble finding them, by all means let me know. If need be, I can log in, got to the level you are interested in, and invite you to join.

Digital-Nitrate · Dec 18, 2008

FoolKiller
OK, so while the rest of the world has been busy with Home I have been hard at work creating more levels for you guys to play once you remember that you can actually play a game that is more complex than point-and-click while chatting (This is all in jest, as I find it funny that people are drawn to games that are basically flash-based minimal gameplay games.).

Anyway, this weekend I launched PLINKO! It is a one-player mini-game, although I guess you could mess with each other in a multiplayer game. If you have ever watched The Price is Right (old or new) you will know what Plinko is. You have a game piece and a vertical board with pegs and prize zones at the bottom. You drop your game piece and it bounces around until it comes to rest in a prize zone. In LBP Plinko you can get 0, 10, 50, 100, or 500 bubbles.

It is simple and quick. My only issue is that LBP's physics engine is missing a touch of chaos theory. So, I had to add wobble motors to some pegs so that they may on occasion push your game piece in an unexpected direction. Even then I feel it is too predictable. But I published it anyway. It is random enough to require multiple attempts to get a desired result.

Nicey done JK. Mark me down as the second member of the 500K Club too.

FoolKiller
Upcoming:

Santa's Helper (mini game): Santa is sick. Drive his sleigh and presents will magically appear on board. You have five seconds to get it into the chimney that matches the color or everything will be destroyed. For every present you deliver correctly you will get a prize bubble.

Charity Drive (timed mini-game race): Drive a truck full of gift bags through the poor neighborhood and deliver them to the houses. How fast can you deliver them all?

PAIN! (mini-game): Aim your launcher, adjust the strength, and launch yourself at the city. Yep, it will be an LBP envisioned game of PAIN!. Points are given for every rooftop object that hits the ground.

If I can make this one work I will love myself.

Sleigh Race (two-player race): This is purely a conceptual thing, but if it gets to be too much like the others out there I will ditch it.

I am also thinking of a mine cart version of this. Or maybe a soap box derby car. With mine carts I am thinking of adding a handbrake and deadly threats, Temple of Doom style.

All those concepts sound great! 👍

Also a heads-up for those that like supporting fellow GTP members that participate in LBP, ceiling_fan now has published a couple levels. Be sure to give him a heart as well as his levels. That way you can easily track his progress and any new levels he creates, and it will help him and you towards the final trophies. 👍

I'm trying to remember the name of your level, but all I know is that I somehow managed to top both his and FK's scores... The ball is now back in their quarts.

FoolKiller · Dec 18, 2008

Digital-Nitrate
Nicey done JK. Mark me down as the second member of the 500K Club too.

One of the few others in the 500k club is MBGT24. He is actually one of my employees at work. Apparently his fiance loves playing it.

Please, tell me you hearted the level (should have put it at 5 hearts). As of last night I was one heart away from having enough needed on levels to get the create trophy, which leaves me only six creator hearts away.

Odd thing about my Plinko level: It takes 30 seconds to play, was put together in two days, and is not what I would call good at all. But, because 500,000 points and a 100x multiplier is available with Little effort it has been labeled as Points-Fest. That single label has attracted 130 plays in less than a week. Wrath of the Volcano God took weeks of work, over a month if you count sketching designs at work, endless trials and tribulations, the creation of numerous objects, three restarts, and involves story, proper platforming elements, and a boss fight. It took it almost a month to get over 100 plays. Now it is getting a lot of plays because people are playing Plinko and then checking out my other levels.

What the?

Screw it, once I get that create trophy I am only creating levels for my tastes. I don't care anymore. I thought after this long the massive points and trophy-earning levels would not be attractive anymore. I was wrong. Apparently levels are better if you can earn a ton of points without any effort.

Yet, the rating system shows that my least played level is best liked.

I'm trying to remember the name of your level, but all I know is that I somehow managed to top both his and FK's scores... The ball is now back in their quarts.

It would be cheating if I went in and trounced your score.

Digital-Nitrate · Dec 18, 2008

FoolKiller
Please, tell me you hearted the level (should have put it at 5 hearts). As of last night I was one heart away from having enough needed on levels to get the create trophy, which leaves me only six creator hearts away.

I have actually made it a point to automatically heart everyone on my friend's list, as it is easy to do using the Friends option on the InfoMoon in LBP. And for anyone who has published levels, I heart their levels as well. That's what friends are for right?

I will do the same for those that I know are on GTP that I know have LBP, but if I missed anyone, please feel free to let me know.

BTW: You can always check to see if someone did heart you or your levels by locating their profile on LBP, and pressing the square button, then simply press the R1 button, and look around the map for your level, you may have to check a few globes/pages if they have hearted a lot of levels.

I think each LBP globe can only show 30 levels or creator profiles at a time.

To see if they hearted you as a creator, keep pressing R2 in that person's profile pages until the end which will now be the globes showing all the creators that they hearted, and again, if they have hearted many creators, you may have to search multiple globes/pages.

I know I have sadly not been hearted by several of the people I have hearted... which sort of sucks, but I'm hoping it's only because they may not know how to heart someone. Hearting levels is easy, but it isn't terribly obvious how to heart a creator.

Digital-Nitrate · Dec 19, 2008

Digital-Nitrate
He also has a really nice looking Christmas theme level, appropriately called Help Santa. In it, you'll find all sorts of Holiday cheer, including a marvelous little reproduction of Santa's workshop, and you even get to drive Santa's sled... lead by who else... Rudolph. 👍

Here are some shots:

FoolKiller · Dec 19, 2008

His Santa picture looks like a sticker made from a pic of a sugar cookie.

Omnis · Dec 19, 2008

FoolKiller
His Santa picture looks like a sticker made from a pic of a sugar cookie.

I thought that was a Maltese.

Digital-Nitrate · Jan 13, 2009

Digital-Nitrate
I did play a great level where you had to use the paint guns to destroy a pretty cool looking T-Rex. It was really well done level with some challenging elements, including jumping over rolling fire logs and such. It also had some multiple co-op sections, and even a hidden trigger switch. I can't recal the name of the level, but I'll try and look it up.

The level is called: Nightlife
Creator: Nathan900
Key Tags: Beautiful, Brilliant, Tricky
Four Stars
22,000 Hearts
220,000 Plays

When you search for it, you'll find it located near India on the LBP globe.

My best score for single player was 91,764. It's a great level, and definitely worth playing! 👍

He also has a level located below it called: small DEMO of next level, which I assume is a preview of the level he is working on, and if so, it looks like it's also going to be really good! 👍

Digital-Nitrate · Jan 19, 2009

(from the main LBP thread)

Digital-Nitrate
croStampy

If you are looking for a level which has a more poetic story, expressionistic design and original ideas incorporated into it, be sure not to miss this one. But if that does not interest you, try it, maybe you will like it.

Hours and hours of work went into, and I really hope you will find the level and the story interesting.

PSN: Stampy83
Level Name: Torn by Darkness
Location: Europe

Click to expand...

croStampy, that was indeed poetic... and an appropriate warning to those with epilepsy!

I really enjoyed it, as it is both challenging (I don't know if I would be able to ace it) and quite unique. 👍

The only thing I would suggest is to add some point bubbles and at least one 'race' feature... thus allowing people to judge how much faster and better they are getting through it. The final score is always 0 no matter how fast or how few sackboys you use to get through it, so I suspect it doesn't encourage a great deal of replay value.

Just something to consider. Regardless, it was really well done, and thanks for sharing. 👍

BTW: There is a level that shares a somewhat similar visual tone from a Japanese user by the name of gehaa that I think you and others might really enjoy as well. It's called Silhouette Flowers. I don't recall where on the LBP globe it is located on, but if you search for "gehaa", it's very easy to find. 👍

In addition to these and inspired by G4's X-Play TV series' selection of their favorite LBP community levels, I played a community level that rivals many of the official story levels. It's called Sack & the Beanstalk by thekillermiller. Doing a search for the level title results in a lot of similarly titles levels, so I recommend using the creator's name for the search instead. 👍

I also highly recommend Little Dead Space by DarknessBear and Silent Hill - Tribute by MonkeyButler. Both of them are not only really well done levels, but are spectacular tributes to the video games they pay respect to. 👍

I'd also add Distress in the Ocean by YAMAME3 to the list, especially for Jaw's fans!

So here are some more of my favorite community levels to add to the ever growing list:

Name: Torn by Darkness
Creator: Stampy83 (and new GTP member!)
Located: Europe
Key Tags: Beautiful, Brilliant, Weird
Rating: 4 stars
Hearts: 83
Plays: 246

Name: Silhouette Flowers
Creator: gehaa
Located: Japan
Key Tags: Beautiful, Brilliant, Pretty
Rating: 4 stars
Hearts: 5,000
Plays: 27,000

Name: SACK & the BEANSTALK
Creator: thekillermiller
Located: India
Key Tags: Beautiful, Brilliant, Long
Rating: 4 stars
Hearts: 3,000
Plays: 17,000

Name: Little Dead Space
Creator: DarknessBear
Located: Pacific Ocean
Key Tags: Beautiful, Brilliant, Creepy
Rating: 4 stars
Hearts: 56,000
Plays: 260,000

Name: Silent Hill - Tribute
Creator: MonkeyButler
Located: Atlantic Ocean (near East Afrika)
Key Tags: Beautiful, Brilliant, Creepy
Rating: 5 stars
Hearts: 38,000
Plays: 170,000

Name: Distress in the Ocean
Creator: YAMAME3
Located: Pacific Ocean
Key Tags: Beautiful, Brilliant, Ingenious
Rating: 5 stars
Hearts: 39,000
Plays: 245,000

And for those who like the roller coaster levels, here is a wonderfully design coaster ride... and even has a partially hidden area:

Name: Speed Roller Coaster
Creator: pinkzep
Located: Singapore
Key Tags: Brilliant, Speedy, Vehicles
Rating: 4 stars
Hearts: 30,000
Plays: 283,000

ceiling_fan · Jan 19, 2009

The Silent Hill Tribute is really amazing.

Nicko · Feb 5, 2009

Search for a creator called Rz22g, he has some pretty awesome levels.

Digital-Nitrate · Feb 13, 2009

Just played this last night... brilliant!

Level: Maxed out
Creator: Qugz
Located: Off the North/West coast of Africa
Key Tags: Beautiful, Brilliant, Complex
Rating: 4 stars
Hearts: 6,000
Plays: 38,000

Pepsi0 · Feb 13, 2009

I highly reccomend playing the Dino Island series, I've enjoyed each level even though they are basically all the same, but that doesn't matter because they are really good.

Digital-Nitrate · Feb 18, 2009

Pepsi0
I highly reccomend playing the Dino Island series, I've enjoyed each level even though they are basically all the same, but that doesn't matter because they are really good.

I quite agree... I also like the most recent one, #3, with it's hidden mushrooms. 👍

IGN has once again posted another list of their favorite community levels, here was their first list when it was still in Beta:

"Coco's Fun House"
-Plugpin

Plenty of levels have a vehicle that goes when you stand on it, and some even have twisty-maze like sections, and of course we can't forget the all-important platforming bits, but Coco's Fun House has them all.

"DinoLand"
-Celozia

Who hasn't had a few too many "adult beverages," slipped and fell and drifted off to sleep dreaming of being able to climb and ride a bunch of long-extinct dino-folk through a landscape? Even if you fall more toward the apple juice crowd than the hard-drinkin' sailor type, the appeal is every bit as universal. It's like LittleBigJurassic Park! Rarrrrgh!

"Duckroll Mobile"
-Tempy-kun

One of the most prevalent ideas that took early on was the idea of a rocket-powered... something, and you'll see a few examples in our list here, but in terms of pure fun and just a big of tongue-in-cheek humor, we just dug riding a duck to sweet, sweet freedom. While flipping. A lot.

"Hollow Bastion"
-DavisTheDarkest

One of the best straight platforming levels we've come across in our limited time with the Beta, Hollow Bastion merely shares a name with an environment from Kingdom Hearts. Otherwise, it's just a pleasantly (for those into the macabe) decorated little romp, and we like it.

"Houston, We Have a Problem"
-Dead_Air

Look ma, we're on the mooooooon! Yep, Dead_Air's little level lets you go from terra firma to the lunar surface (we didn't know it was so... burlapy!) in the span of a few minutes. A cute, fun little ride there and back again to be sure.

"Journey From The Center of The Planet"
-jeffram

Oh jeffram, how we love you and that noggin' of yours. We'd almost claim you lifted inspiration for this twisty, maze-like fiery escape from one of Media Molecule's later levels in the full game, but when a level is this ingeniously designed, who cares? Definitely one of the more challenging user-generated levels out there, but certainly one of the most sublimely platform-rich of the bunch too.

"Little Big Colossus .v2"
-Danielsan88

Many aspiring Create participants have taken stabs at a Shadow of the Colossus level, but this one was so lovingly detailed (it even features a tribute to everyone's favorite trusty steed, Agro, and his most heroic moment) that we had to add it -- if only so you could see the awesome in action.

"rollercoaster"
-Doekeh

Again, simple concept (affix four rockets to a wheel and trigger the whole mess to blast off by just holding onto a little square in the middle), but such a cool little execution that we had to give it some attention. Nothing really more to say other than, "wheeeeee!"

"Takeshi's Castle"
-LoneERecoN

Better known to US audiences as MXC, Takeshi's Castle was the original Japanese game show that made you cringe just watching contestants get their limbs, privates and faces mashed, rolled and made oh so muddy. In LittleBigPlanet, though, the consequences for failure are far more dire. Still, that won't stop us from barreling through the game's three main challenges as quickly as possible.

"TheNextBigThing"
-Mik2121

Never before has a user-created level delivered such depth, such delightfully powerful character development and such refined, nuanced settings that one can only suggest you watch the video and see for yourself...

"Wipeout LBP"
-TONX

Short but sweet, the application of wheels to this iconic hovercraft means it's not really anti-grav racing, but it's plenty close. Plus, who doesn't like going really, really fast?

"Welcome to Pleasantville"
-DoctorBo42

Any level where your sackperson can assume the role of a hard-boiled cop called out to a crime scene has already earned a place in our hearts, but DoctorBo42's use of atmosphere and some internal dialogue pop-ups was just too awesome not to show off. Oh, and there's even some detective work!

Ok so that was when LBP was just in beta... For their most recent list, this time they highlight just five of their favorite unique "cool" levels:

"PIXALATION 1.0"
Author: JackIsBack999

Why it gets a nod: Slick and simple can never go wrong in LBP. At first glance, PIXALATION 1.0 is simply a green background with some awesome 8-bit text and simple black silhouettes, but once you get going, the humor and the challenge of the level stands out. The moves you should be making -- jump, run, and grab -- are literally spelled out on the playfield, but that doesn't make the ladder-like midlevel leaps any easier to navigate and neither does the "DANGER" labels above the many electrical hazards. JackIsBack999's level gets a nod because it's eye candy and a tricky son of a sack.

"Chicken Rear Solid lvl 1"
Author: WilsonPhillips-X

Why it gets a nod: First things first -- this is not one of the hundreds of Metal Gear Solid levels that are out there. Chicken Rear Solid is all about catching eggs as they fall from a chicken's behind. See, Farmer BeeGee can't stop dancing long enough to tend to his farm, so you've got to grab a basket and roll it around the bottom of a giant Plinko board while mama bird scoots back and forth across the top releasing her payload. The eggs bounce all over the place as they come down and bop into bumpers, so be prepared to get that basket across the screen in a hurry.

"Zombie Nightmare"
Author: Miotch74

Why it gets a nod: If you've been reading IGN for a while, you no doubt know that I, Greg Miller, love zombies. That said, I've tried lots of zombie levels in LBP and can tell you that Zombie Nightmare has the best looking living dead I have ever seen. The beasts roll back and forth on the level with these dark, grimy faces and really get you in the mood for some undead action. Top it off with some great looking graveyards, a few nods to Return of the Living Dead (one of the most underrated zombie movies ever), and a level that goes from cemetery to town to sewers, and you've got something you should give a try. It's not particularly hard or inventive in terms of gameplay, but there's something to be said about survivors huddled on a rooftop and random bloody baby parts.

"Warrior's Blood - Chapter 1: Prologue"
Author: doofdoof69

Why it gets a nod: You know how every RPG starts with about 15 to 30 minutes of talking and cutscenes that setup the grand story you're involved in? That's what's happening here in Warrior's Blood. You're Becka, a young lady just trying to get by in your seaside village. You're in love with a fisherman named Drefron but everyone else hates him, your mom -- as you will repeatedly tell her -- is a cow, and your job involves delivering apples. Everything's peachy keen until some wizards decide to make a move on your village and the poop hits the fan. Most of this level is just reading word balloons -- the writing and characterization is actually pretty good and is definitely interesting overall -- but the push at the end will challenge your jumping abilities as a player.

"Re-Color"
Author: ZX497

Why it gets a nod: Re-Color looks like it was drawn on orange construction paper, and that's cool with me. Whereas our first entry in this edition of LBP LLA was a simple run, jump, and grab affair on a green background, Re-Color takes those same mechanics and adds some nifty mechanical platforms, the Paintinator, and a neon-spewing end boss that will test your shooting skills and dedication. It looks cool, it's a challenge, and there's some pretty cool stuff under the hood.

BTW: If you follow those links you will also be able to watch video clips for all of those levels. 👍

Digital-Nitrate · Mar 3, 2009

LittleBig Contra

LittleBig Contra is a NeoGAF collaborative project aimed at delivering the definitive Contra experience to LittleBigPlanet. Our goal was to recreate each of the 8 stages of Contra from the NES using the tools available to us in the LittleBigPlanet level editor.

There are 8 stages in total and 7 authors on the LBC team:

Stage 1: Jungle: PSN - Leonidas2123
Stage 2: Base 1: PSN - SaitoHalifax
Stage 3: Waterfall: PSN - RyanardoDavinci
Stage 4: Base 2: PSN - SaitoHalifax
Stage 5: Snowfield: PSN - NinjaMicWZ
Stage 6: Energy Zone: PSN - El_Beefo
Stage 7: Hangar: PSN - Jaeyden
Stage 8: Alien's Lair: PSN - gevurah22

👍

Digital-Nitrate · May 12, 2009

[YOUTUBEHQ]u_3yheHGW8I[/YOUTUBEHQ]

This level is a tribute to the game "Another World" aka "Out of this World" for Little Big Planet on Playstation 3. Level is called "Out of this Little Big World" and is created by PSN id "Hymanator".

👍

CAM · Jun 6, 2011

I have heard that there are some levels where the creators put stickers needed to make special costumes in the levels. Is this true? I cannot find any examples.

Starfirebird · Jun 6, 2011

7. Duckroll mobile by Tempy-kun had me rolling in laughter.This looks like some good fun and makes me glad that i choose LBP as one of the free games. 👍

LittleBigPlanet - Highly Recommended Community Levels

1955-2011 R.I.P.

1955-2011 R.I.P.

Don't be a fool.

1955-2011 R.I.P.

1955-2011 R.I.P.

1955-2011 R.I.P.

1955-2011 R.I.P.

Don't be a fool.

1955-2011 R.I.P.

1955-2011 R.I.P.

Don't be a fool.

Not Even A Real Mod

1955-2011 R.I.P.

1955-2011 R.I.P.

1955-2011 R.I.P.

1955-2011 R.I.P.

1955-2011 R.I.P.

1955-2011 R.I.P.

Welcome Home, Deuce.

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