From the moment you put the disc into your PS3 and Stephen Fry introduces you to the finer points of LittleBigPlanet's concept, you just know that you're in for something special. Even amidst the slew of triple-A titles released over this absurdly busy period, LittleBigPlanet stands tall as this season's - and maybe even this generation's - defining title. It may not be as pitch perfectly playable as Super Mario Galaxy or have the heritage and epic story of Halo 3, but what it does have is an almost infinitesimal level of charm and the kind of boundless potential that so many games strive for yet so few achieve.

While Bungie hinted at what could be accomplished via user-created content with the Theater and Forge modes in Halo 3, the relatively small development studio Media Molecule has taken this design ethic and applied it to every single facet of LBP's design. It also helps that they have layered this customisable ethic atop a hugely enjoyable platform game and in doing so have merged classic gameplay with a cutting edge development philosophy and the kind of technical framework that finally gives gamers a firsthand taste of what the PS3 is truly capable of delivering. Other games in Sony's canon have been hyped to almost biblical proportions, only for the majority of them to come up considerably short of expectations; LBP may prove to be the first title that can truly only be achieved on the PS3's hardware. What is even more pleasing from a gamer's perspective is that this potential has been achieved without a meaty gun or speeding car in sight. This is a game that has clearly been created with the concepts of playability and imagination at the forefront of every design decision; nothing feels cynical or intentionally geared towards marketing and sales figures - this is a game that will be looked back upon as a turning point in videogame development, a game where the player is given the tools to create everything they see, to share their creations with the world and to subsequently experience the creations of other gamers from every corner of the planet, "or as the rest of the universe calls it, the orb of dreamers". It may be billed as a classic platformer that just happens to have some of the finest physics ever seen in videogame history, but LBP is so much more; in fact, it is essentially exactly what you as a gamer are capable of or willing to make of it.

LitteBigPlanet is essentially three games, or more accurately, three core concepts, rolled into one, each one successfully overlapping the last to create a cohesive experience that can be enjoyed exclusively from each standpoint but one that is inevitably more enjoyable when seen and experienced as a whole. At the core of LBP is a platforming title that can be played on your own or with up to three other players. Then there is the matter of the extraordinarily robust creation tools and, finally, the incorporation of the online community and the almost infinite possibilities that they can bring to a title that's already bursting at the seams with imagination.

The biggest problem that LPB could have potentially faced from the off is a sense of gamers being overwhelmed by the options available in LBP's sizable collection of tools and options. Luckily, Media Molecule was obviously all too aware of this potential downfall and has clearly put great effort into creating as inviting an interface as possible. This is where the single player and co-op portion of the game comes into play; rather than giving you all the tools you need to create your own levels and designs, you are initially tasked with playing through some of the story mode to start your collection of items, stickers and themes that can eventually be applied to your own creations in the workshop. This may seem like a restriction but it's a necessary method of easing you into the experience and introducing the huge range of options available when it comes to creating your own levels; and honestly, you really won't mind playing through the story mode because it's an absolute joy. It may be disappointingly short in a traditional, beginning to end sense, but LBP's eight worlds are crammed with the kind of invention and charm that most developers could only dream of. It's as though Media Molecule has somehow managed to bottle happiness and turn it into something tangible onscreen. The worlds created, found upon the menu screen as three planets that can be accessed from your pod, offer up themed levels ranging from the African Savannah and feudal Japan to the Mexican desert and a unique take on New York City - and each level has been crafted in the kind of charming patchwork manner that Michel Gondry might have come up with were he given free range on the artistic design of a videogame.

While the platforming on offer may seem like the simplest variety, with only two face buttons used to jump and grab, the added dimension of three planes to jump between and the amazing effect that simply grabbing at your surroundings has on gameplay cannot be stressed enough. While the 2.5D approach does allow for denser level design and a greater degree of freedom, it is the grab mechanic that really brings the game to life. With every aspect of the visual design benefiting from a sense of tangibility and weight, combined with the much-touted Digital Molecular Matter physics system, items move and feel exactly how you would imagine they would in the real world. Simply dragging items and watching the subsequent effect of your actions can be as much fun as the platforming itself and you are constantly enticed to experiment with the extremely realistic physics that govern LBP's world.

While LBP is full of traditional platforming in the vein of dodging obstacles and the usual easily identifiable pitfalls of fire, electricity and the like, LBP also throws a vast collection of unique ideas at you, both within each level's designs and more obviously via the unlockable mini-challenges that are dotted around each of the eight available worlds. By finding hidden keys you unlock simplistic but often extremely addictive challenges that include skipping, maze navigation and numerous forms of racing, to name but a few. These are made doubly addictive thanks to the brilliant online integration that graces every aspect of LBP's design; the constant, but wholly simplistic sea of information always keeps you up to date with the scores and achievements of friends and gamers from across the world, thus constantly encouraging that one more go mentality to raise your another few positions up the leaderboard.

Whereas these addictive challenges add obvious longevity to the story mode, it is the perfectly aligned link between story, creation and community that once again gives LBP extra legs in the story department; while you could sprint from the beginning to the end of story mode in one sitting, you would only pick up a handful of items for the level creator along the way. If you really want to let your imagination soar then you're going to have to play through each mission a few times over to pick up the extra stickers, backgrounds and items littered throughout each level. There are usually between thirty to eighty items scattered around each level and getting that 100% complete grade for each level quickly becomes hugely addictive in its own right; from finding every item to labelling every sticker spot, each level is filled with things to collect and do. However, to get your hands on some of these items you will have to play through many levels with at least one other player along for the ride, thanks to the numerous tasks that can only be completed via co-op play. It may be a little unfair for those with only one controller and it's sad to see that there is no way to get around these simple puzzles without a companion at your side, but the fact remains that while a handful of hidden items require co-op play, the entire game is certainly more fun when played with others.

With up to four players onscreen at any one time, things can get a little cluttered, but thanks to a solid if occasionally troublesome camera, LBP's levels generally cater to four players with relative ease. There may be a few instances where the camera doesn't draw back far enough, leading to the occasional cheap death, but for the most part it does a fine job of dealing with the action. It's also testament to the programming skills of Media Molecule that even with four players onscreen at once, the game never fails to run as smoothly as a finely tuned Ferrari. The only problem that can arise in four-player co-op is the need to restart levels if you have a newcomer onboard, an issue that arises from the slightly uneven distribution of checkpoints. You see, rather than having a set number of lives for each level, you are instead given a set number of lives for each checkpoint with each one allowing a varying amount of retries before you reach the next one in the level - and while the game isn't exactly difficult, having one player struggle at any particular point can send all players back to the start time and again. Other than these minor quibbles, co-op is a perfect example of seemingly endless fun; from striking each other for laughs to planting personalised stickers on everything from the surrounding level to the back of another Sackboy's head, the invention in level design and connection between the player and the gaming world lends the whole experience a kind of childlike fun that is simply more entertaining with friends.

And speaking of Sackboy, well, how did it take so long to get around to mentioning that wonderfully charming little creation? At the centre of your experience and as the perfect introduction to the world of LBP in its own right is your very own Sackboy, a creation with so much character and personality that even his (or her) penchant for silence cannot belie the charm that oozes from its every pore, or, stitch, I suppose. With not even a Wall-E like squeal to speak of, Sackboy is completely dependant upon physical emotion and pure unadulterated charisma to win over the public and, as luck would have it, Sackboy has this in spades. Much like the level creator, the items with which to kit out your Sackboy are drip-fed to you via the completion of the story mode. You start with but a few items of clothing and cloth design, only for the list to grow exponentially as you move through the game, with costumes ranging from lions and bunny rabbits to ninja outfits and wedding dresses; yes, the chance to turn your Sackboy into a Dennis Rodman lookalike is a very real prospect. Of course, beyond these suites there is the option to simply go wild by throwing together hairstyles and costume pieces in a haphazard manner to create the strangest looking Sackboy you can imagine. Whatever your approach, you can live happily in the knowledge that there is enough potential design options to keep everyone happy - and if that's not enough then you can also apply the items and stickers you find to your pod and create a personalised hub from which to access the gameplay options. This is especially cool given that online co-op gaming sees friends and other online folk visiting your customised pod between levels.

While your personalised take on Sackboy is certainly charming enough, it is the ability to control his or her emotions via simple instructions that really bring the character to life. A tilt of the sixaxis controller allows for the control of Sackboy's head and body movement while a press of the d-pad in any direction changes the expression on its face, with each subsequent press in that direction pushing them further and further into that particular mindset. Push up once and your Sackboy breaks into a cheeky grin. Press it again and it becomes a fully-fledged smile. Press it a third time and Sackboy's tongue falls out in giddy excitement. The same is true of anger, fear and sadness; it's a simple way to express emotion but one that, like the rest of the game, is implemented par excellence.

This huge list of customization that affects every aspect of the game could have easily turned LBP into a menu-filled title with endless rows of options and choices to sift through. Luckily however, Media Molecule has come up with the rather ingenious Popit menu system to keep things as simple and as accessible as possible. Opened at any point in the game, the Popit gives easy access to sticker collections, photos, building options, Sackboy customisation and even an option to self-destruct if you want to hop back to the last checkpoint or start of the level at any particular time. This is the tool that essentially connects your Sackboy to the world around him (or her), allowing you as the player to make changes to the world and your character as you see fit. It pops up on screen at the press of a button, connected by coloured string to your Sackboy. It is large enough to be easily read and understood but small enough and well-shaped so that it can be simultaneously brought up onscreen by four players in co-op without the screen becoming too much of a mess.

Once you have built up a solid enough collection of tools and items within the story mode, you're going to want to pop on over to My Moon, which orbits alongside LittleBigPlanet. Here you can start the potentially daunting quest of creating your own level and this is where the game, as excellent as it already is, will potentially split the public down the middle. For those who have the time, patience and creativity, the LBP level editor allows for unprecedented levels of user-created content. If you can get your head around the myriad of options available to you and are skilled enough to deal with the complex physics and behavioural patterns that affect each and every item then there is no reason why, given the time, you cannot match or even surpass the levels created by the development team. Everything you have seen in the story mode can be recreated in the level creator; you have been given the same tools as the developers have access to. The problem is that many simply won't have the time, patience and/or skill for such an undertaking.

Now, I'm not trying to knock the general gaming public with the above statement; rather, it's because of just how difficult it is to create anything near to being a playable, let alone fun, level. While the basics are very simple and the physics are easy to understand, as soon as springs and motors are brought into the equation, things getting very complicated, very fast. Don't get me wrong - you can always use one of the many pre-made objects or themes to fill out your levels, but beyond slightly missing the point of total creative freedom, this still leaves a set of creation tools that can be a little overwhelming - and this is never more apparent than when you are sitting through any of the many tutorials, each one seemingly more complex than the last. Once you do get your head around it all though, the actual options are extremely intuitive and the potential for unique creations is truly liberating. It's just a shame that so many gamers won't stick with it long enough to discover everything. Plus, to make things that little bit more complex, there is also the matter of working in three planes; while creating an elaborate puzzle or door via motors, pistons and pulleys is all well and good, it won't be of much use if you don't pay attention to the three planes, otherwise players can simply sidestep even the most complex of user-created contraptions.

With Media Molecule giving you so much creative freedom, combined with LBP's epic set of tools, the level creator was always unlikely to have a gentle learning curve or overly simplistic set of tutorials. In their defence though, Media Molecule has implemented plenty of options to help gamers along and make things as user-friendly as they possibly could be. The rewind option is extremely useful and very cool thanks to its Eighties VCR look, while dipping in and out of levels is a breeze as you continually test your level as you go. The three planes can be moved between with ease and items are glued together with the minimum of fuss. Although making large, elaborate levels will still only be for the few, the user-created content available at the moment shows an inclination towards smaller but no less imaginative level designs. There are already LBP takes on Tetris and Space Invaders, along with a host of unique ideas that are pushing the envelope in regards to what can be achieved. You may have to sift through a lot of poorly designed levels but, thanks to a simple tagging system, levels can be tagged with basic info regarding its quality and style, yet another simple but hugely useful aspect of LBP's design.

Even if creating your own levels doesn't interest you, LBP still has a huge amount to offer outside of its story mode thanks to the brilliantly implemented community features. By visiting the third globe from your pod you can access the potentially never-ending stream of user-created content with ease and with each one tagged, sampling the best that the rest of the world has to offer is a surprisingly user-friendly affair. You can also mark any level, item or creation that you see as a favourite, for easy access to it in the future via the Popit menu. This 'heart' option essentially allows you to save anything you see in the game, online or otherwise, to your immediately accessible inventory for easy future use. Not only can you play levels created by others but you can save them to your My Moon so that you don't have to constantly search for those great levels and items that you may want to revisit. If you can't be bothered with all that searching then you can also select the option to play 'Cool Levels', which will set you up with a random option of positively tagged user-created levels.

Creation options aside, simply playing online with others couldn't be easier; each level has clear options for random online gaming while a list of friends and their achievements is always readily available. Although the game doesn't run quite as perfectly as it does in local play, it still plays extremely well with four players bounding about the screen at once with little to no lag.

All of this adds up to one of the finest and certainly most unique gaming experiences in recent memory, but LittleBigPlanet still has a few nagging flaws. Beyond the complicated and time-consuming creation mode, the most major of these has to be the game's slightly floaty jumping mechanic. Over and under jumping your target can become a constant occurrence, one that slightly tarnishes a game that in nearly every other respect is borderline perfect. There is also the matter of jumping between the three planes, which doesn't feel quite as responsive as it should. The fact that the jumping isn't quite 100% perfect may seem like splitting hairs on my part but considering how much time you actually spend jumping in LBP, the need to get it spot on should have been of the highest importance to Media Molecule. Does it sour the experience? Not at all -it's just that when every other aspect of the game has been built to such exacting standards, any aspect of gameplay that isn't nigh on perfect tends to stand out more than it should.

With those minor blots on the scorecard out of the way, we can get to the final reason why you simply have to own LBP and, along with Metal Gear Solid 4, why it provides more than reason enough to splash the cash on Sony's behemoth of a console - and that reason is the game's exemplary audiovisual design. Every item in the world of LBP looks like you could reach into the screen and grab it. The patchwork visuals have a collective charm and technical achievement that simply can't be seen anywhere else and while games like Gears of War 2 and Gran Turismo 5: Prologue show off the slicker side to great presentation and technical achievement, LBP has created a look all of its own, one whose creative beauty is only matched by the technical wizardry that holds it all together; from the amazingly crisp 1080p clarity to the faultless physics, every aspect of LBP's visual design drips with quality. Then there is the small matter of the audio; while the ambient noise and basic effects more than do their job, special mention has to go to the soundtrack and narration. The soundtrack, made up of a collection of eclectic artists and songs ranging from the sublime Get it Together by the Go Team to My Patch by Jim Noir fits perfectly with the game's quirky design and visuals, while the narration, delivered by the silver-tongued Stephen Fry, makes tutorials more fun than they ever should be.

If you're willing to get your head around the tools on offer and spend the time that's necessary to get the best out of an incredibly versatile creation mode, LittleBigPlanet will provide the defining gaming moments of this generation. For everyone else, the brilliantly imaginative story mode, sublime visuals, outstanding audio, simple but affecting customisation and potentially endless user-created content will provide more than enough stellar content to keep a smile on the face of even the most cynical of gamers. Needless to say, Media Molecule has successfully created a game that truly is for everyone; from the casual to the hardcore, LittleBigPlanet really is what you make of it.

Reviewed by Liam Pritchard for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).