GAME REVIEW: Lego City Undercover

24 April 2013 - 02:56 By Bruce Gorton
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Lego City Undercover
Lego City Undercover

Lego City Undercover puts you in the shoes of Chase McCain, a legendary police officer on the hunt for the nefarious Rex Fury.

LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER

SYSTEM: NINTENDO WII U

PRICE: R552

AGE RESTRICTION: 7

Some people say this game plays like Lego Grand Theft Auto. I think it is more Lego Naked Gun.

The game is a sandbox adventure in which you can explore a vast city and the surrounding countryside, yet what actually defines it is its humour .

While it loses the cooperative gameplay that defines previous Lego games, I don't think this is a bad thing; the old formula is stale and a different direction is welcome.

I did find the odd bug where you get stuck in the scenery. This is particularly annoying because returning to the police station means you have to restart the mission you were on.

The voice acting is top-notch. There is a genuine feeling of enthusiasm that pervades this game, keeping it fresh and oddly endearing.

The city looks gorgeous, and exploration is fully rewarded as you leave your mark creating wishing wells, car drop-off points, and ferry routes.

The WiiU gamepad is well employed here - allowing you to search for objects and suspects, and giving you various helpful tools to catch the criminals running rampant through the city.

Overall, this game delivers a lot of what it promises to deliver - the environment is fun to explore and the city itself has an optimistic character despite the high level of kleptomania (the first few minutes includes crooks stealing the wheels off the mayor's car).

THE GOOD:

The city is fun to explore, the characters are likeable, and the platform play is reasonably solid.

THE BAD:

It is possible to end up in a situation where you are stuck, leaving you no option but to return to the police station and start the mission again.

RATING: 8/10

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