‘LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins’ Review Roundup

LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins was released today for the 3DS. See what the critics had to say.

LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins is the 3DS extension on the game that gained favorable reviews all around. It features an officer known as Chase McCain, who explores a city comprised entirely of LEGOs. As you go, the city builds itself around you and humor abounds in true buddy cop fashion.

In the original LEGO City Undercover, your partner Frank Honey helped you chase down Rex Fury in an open world scenario filled with fun. This time around, Frank Honey isn’t there. In fact, not even a month after the original game was released, TT Games decided to make a prequel. It’s almost a rule in storytelling that you build the character with a few stories before you tell us where they come from, so being what it is, LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins was just too soon.

LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Beginssystematically dismantles almost everything you liked about the Wii U game, making you wonder why you should even bother. The crime world is smaller, the voices are mostly gone save for a cutscene or two, and it makes you very aware that everything has been scaled back.

The interactions between Chase and his love interest Natalia Kowalski and then-deputy Dunby are entertaining enough, but it’s not enough to make up for what feels missing.

For an origin story, LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins doesn’t seem to go that far back. His lower rank doesn’t seem to diminish his skills, so there doesn’t seem to be anything to build up from. They could just as easily have demoted Chase and made him climb his way back up.

If you’ve played the original LEGO City Undercover, you don’t have much exploring to do, as the city layout is about the same. Stick with the first game and you’ll get more.

What do you think of LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins?