OK, let me get this out there right off the bat: no, I'm not going to say that the controls are the serious flaw. In terms of precision, the controls can take some getting used to. Sackboy jumps high or low depending on the pressure with which you push down on the button. He feels "loose" while in mid-air, but this is a result of the ability to change the direction of his jump while he's up there. The jumping in this game is dependent, very heavily, on momentum. A little momentum means a little hop, more difficult to change direction in mid-air. A lot of momentum means a giant leap, which is actually much easier to manipulating the direction of the leap in mid-air. Eventually, you'll get used to the mechanics of momentum and be able to jump with the most precision you could expect from a platform, but it isn't without a little need for practice, that's for sure.

No, the biggest flaw with this game is that it is very short, with absolutely no replay value once you've collected all of the prize-filled bubbles (of which there are many). Most bubbles are easy to get, and I suspect that in the course of the game's 25 levels (or around that), you'll acquire 75% of the prizes without going much out of your way. There are a couple of challenging ones, a couple of brain-twisters, and some that require multiple players to work in tandem. As you acquire the prize bubbles, you get more items with which to decorate your character and your user-created levels.

The level designs are nothing short of brilliant. What they've done with the tools (apparantly, all levels within the game are created with the same tools they've provided for the players to create their own levels) is nothing short of astonishing, and at times simply mind-blowing as you try to figure out how you could recreate some of it into your own creations. You'll travel the world and see some beautiful sites (the entire game is rendered with gorgeous 2.5d graphics, mixing realism and cartoon qualities) and you'll hear some great tunes along the way. I found myself humming or whistling many of the game's songs long after I'd stopped playing.

The entire experience is charming, light-hearted fun, but it's all over much too quickly, and unless you're going for the gold trophy that requires you to beat each level without dying, the game is largely devoid of challenge. It's one of the easiest games I've played in years, except for one single level in the last world which took a few attempts.

The biggest problem is, again, the game's length. And once it's all over, the only incentive to go back is to get the rest of the prize bubbles. Some of them are near impossible to get in the game's current state. Even over a month after the game's release and several patches later, at the time of this writing the game still has trouble connecting me to a multiplayer match without being insanely lagged to the point of it being nearly unplayable most of the time. And some of the game's prize bubbles require you to play this multiplayer mode in order to acquire them. But even when they get it all fixed, once you've played through and taken care of all the prizes to collect, you'll have little to no reason to go back for more.

In terms of the game's online, user-created content, I'm quite frankly very disappointed. There's yet to be a single user-created level that matches the charm and quality of the material the game ships with, as created by Media Molecule themselves. Some of the levels are a bit fun and can be challenging, some have sparks of creativity, but there's really nothing there that makes me go: "Yes! This is brilliant fun!" All of those moments are relegated to the levels the game shipped with, and we may never see a truly great level from the community.

For the first few times you try user-generated levels, you'll notice the effort that went into it, you'll appreciate the creativity and the fact that you're getting to play a level you've never played before, but for the most part, it gets rather boring because there's just nothing special there. The game can only support the textures and backgrounds that Media Molecule provides, and after a while you start to get pretty sick of the same music, the same sound effects, the same backgrounds, etc. being utilized over and over again. And for every decent and semi-enjoyable level you play, you'll find incomplete levels that you can't finish or that are seemingly designed for the sole purpose of messing with would-be players.

Now, on to the actual creation tools. First, you must endure the tutorials. The voice of Stephen Fry makes the tutorial segments of the level creator seem like a breeze. He's charming and fun to listen to as he teaches you the tricks of the trade. After a couple hours of tutorials you'll be thinking in terms of the game's specific mechanics and how you'll accomplish the things you dream up, but don't expect it to be easy or quick. If you see yourself as a would-be game designer, then by all means buy this game and go to town. You can do a lot with the tools, but for the most part you'll just be tickling your own fancy. For most other gamers, you'll love it at first, then it'll all start to wear thin.

Verdict: Play It.

* My final verdict is based on a three-tiered scale:

1/3 Forget It
2/3 Play It
3/3 Own It