Lego City Undercover The Chase Begins Review

Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins is a follow up to the initial Lego City Undercover, developed by TT Fusion and released for Wii U a few weeks ago. The game strives to offer gamers a similar playing experience as its predecessor and boasts being the first open world adventure for the portable 3DS platform. Unfortunately, it is exactly the restrictions of the 3DS that keep The Chase Begins from fulfilling its true potential.

In terms of storyline, the game is actually a prequel to the Wii U sandbox action adventure, and centers on charming rookie cop Chase McCain as he explores a huge city, battles gangs, tracks down collectibles and engages in the occasional high speed car race. Players will be able to control Chase while through several boss fights and while utilizing the powers offered by different outfits.

The game manages to retain a great part of the humor and relaxing gameplay that made its Wii U brother so successful. Too bad none of the awesome voice acting of the Wii U version could be worked into the 3DS, as that lost some of the original game’s unique sense of humor.

In fact, this is where the developers erred with this game. The 3DS version seems to be just a stripped-down version of the Wii U game, that required plenty of concessions to get where it is. Granted it is still a charming game that is particularly appealing for kids, but adults will enjoy it more if they have also played the first Undercover City and still have its mood and wit in mind.

The Chase Begins also inherits some technical flaws from the original Undercover, in that it sometimes struggles with framerate issues and lengthy loading times, which risks taking some of the fun out of exploring an open world.

In conclusion, even if it fails to deliver the same style and quality of gameplay as the Wii U version, The Chase Begins is still a fun and engaging game that can keep you occupied for ten hours and can be quite a success with young gamers. If you have a 3DS and are looking for a good game to play, you should definitely give it a try.

[Image via GenGame]