With its launch approximately one month away, the beta phase for Sony's community-based game, LittleBigPlanet has kicked off.

Eurogamer were the site tasked with giving away the initial batch of LittleBigPlanet beta invites, but they didn't expect such a major reaction, with gamers from around the world rushing over to nab one of the 5,800 on offer causing its site to crumble under the strain.

Other websites across Europe were given a handful of beta invites to giveaway and all were snapped up immediately.

For those who have managed to avoid the hype, LittleBigPlanet is a platform adventure that boasts a huge social community, user generated content and in-depth customisation options.

The LittleBigPlanet experience starts with players learning about their cutesy character’s powers to interact physically with the environment. There are obstacles to explore, bits and pieces to collect and puzzles to solve – requiring a combination of brains and collaborative teamwork. As players begin to explore, their creative skills will grow and they will be ready to start creating and modifying their surroundings – the first step to sharing them with the whole community.

Characters have the power to move anything in this glued and stitched-together 3D landscape; they have the power to design, shape and build both objects and entire locations for others to view and play. There’s no complicated level editor; all of these skills can be learned by simply playing the game. Creativity is part of the gameplay experience and playing is part of the creative experience. Players can make their world as open or as secretive to explore as they like. When it’s ready, they can invite anyone within the LittleBigPlanet community to come and explore their patch – or can go and explore everybody else’s.

Click for larger image



Click for larger image

European gamers have only just started playing LittleBigPlanet, so we'll probably have to wait a few days to gauge the initial reaction, but Sony has been 'bigging it up' so much, we're expecting it to be extremely positive.

Sony believe that LittleBigPlanet has garnered plaudits as "one of the most hotly anticipated titles in video game history" and "the biggest game of 2008" . It's even gone on record as saying that "LittleBigPlanet is going to change the world of gaming forever." Let's hope Sony hasn't over-hyped it.

LittleBigPlanet is due for release on October 22nd in the UK.