I was able to visit the Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2008 (EIF 08) today showing off some of the latest games to be coming out of the UK and to act as a discourse for hot topics in the UK games industry. Much smaller in comparison to other well known games shows such as E3 and the Tokyo Game Show, there where still a number of interesting titles on show which I got the opportunity to have a play with.

Cooking Guide on the DS, already available, is much like having Jamie Oliver in your kitchen but conveniently squished down into a DS sized cartridge and around the £30 — cheap if you ask me. An interesting idea that I’m sure will appeal to gamers who already enjoy the quirky style of games that DS has become known for. The best thing on show though was a playable version of Little Big Planet on the PS3. A highly customisable platformer that really comes into its own when you— begin to create your own levels and environments which you can then share online via the Playstation network. I know it’s not an original concept but the barrage of available customisable options and tie-ins with the EyeToy camera and the very likeable artwork style will open the game up to a lot of possibilities that could work really well in the online community aspect of the game.

If your interested in either of these two games, I suggest you check out GameSpot.co.uk or GuyCocker.com. There is also an entertaining review of Cooking Guide on the DS, mentioned, as part of Start/Select and a Flickr set of EIF 2008 here.