It can all be summed up in one, three-letter word: JOY.

My boyfriend got a copy of Little Big Planet early. It was just a normal night; we were going through the games at Blockbuster. And there it was, a retail copy resting on the shelf (FYI, the game officially comes out this Tuesday on PS3).

Anyway, we played for a couple of hours yesterday. The co-op mode is fun; I could picture doing this with a child but it was still fun playing with a friend. The mechanics are simple enough-- basic platformer actions, plus customization and sticker/decoration-placing functions.

The game is very well designed. You could tell the focus was on "FUN"... pure, unadulterated, tactile fun. It goes from everything from the textures ( corduroy, wood, etc..) on objects to the twisted environmental designs... from the fun mechanical/puppet-esque NPCs to the lovable "you" that you create... from the friendly checkpoint system that makes the game not "too easy" but not punishing...  the physics objects, the level creator, the stickers you can place anywhere...

There's just a lot to this game that you slowly notice as you play. I find it a bit difficult to call it a game, because it's more of an "experience" to me. Some people might say the two are (or should be) the same-- but after playing LBP, I've realized how I differentiate the two. To me, a "game" is when I find myself more concerned over rules, competition, and metrics. An "experience" is when I'm more aware of my emotions and reactions. I think most video games fit between the two-- they're really just extremes on a gradient.