"Lego City: Undercover" doesn't seem like an important game when compared to a new and upcoming blockbuster releases like "Bioshock Infinite," "God of War: Ascension" or "Gears of War: Judgment," but it's actually as essential as any of them. The "Lego" cop story is a Wii U-exclusive and the biggest Lego game yet from developer TT Games. More to the point, it's potentially a family-friendly version of the "GTA"-style open-world-a genre dominated by violence and adult themes-that young gamers may actually want to play.
Reviewers seem to agree that, while "Lego City Undercover" is probably better than you'd expect it to be, it's not necessarily a "great" game. It delivers the same kind of fun open-world gameplay you'd expect from "GTA" and "Saint's Row," but gets held down by minor problems such as technical issues and stilted pacing.
In "Lego City Undercover" players control Chase McCain, Lego city's number one cop. McCain job is to fight crime and recapture his arch nemesis Rex Fury. TT Games' licensed "Lego" games feature a unique brand of cheeky, yet G-Rated, humor and "Undercover" apparently maintains the series' track record with storytelling that's clever for all-ages. Polygon's Justin McElroy gave the game 7 out of 10, and enjoyed the game's wacky writing:
"'Lego City Undercover' primarily trades in 'Spongebob Squarepants'-style wild irreverence, but it's equally willing to veer into a prolonged 'Shawshank Redemption' parody."
Undercover's cleverness extends into the game's mechanics. In keeping with the "Lego" theme, McCain will have to figure out puzzles that involve building and/or destroying environments to progress through the game and its many collectibles. The detective can also find and use various outfits, that turn "McCain the cop" into "McCain the fire fighter" or "McCain the astronaut." Each outfits comes with its own abilities, which add wrinkles to the puzzle-solving. While they keep the gameplay varied, multiple reviewers complained the outfit system led to odd and sometimes tedious logic for puzzles involving multiple outfits. Game Informer's Jeff Cork "liked seeing the cosmetic changes that came with each outfit, but the insistence on wardrobe changes is a pain." He rated the game 8.5 out of 10. GamesRadar reviewer Miguel Concepcion gave the game four stars, but noted a similar issue: "You would think a basic skill like watering a plant wouldn't be limited to a farmer or that a robber wouldn't be the only one who'd know how to use crowbars."
Finding blocks allows players to build structures that give McCain access to vehicles and other tools. Though they aren't required to complete the game, tracking down collectibles does make up the vast majority of the gameplay for completionists. IGN's Richard George scored the game 8 out of 10, and applauded the game's expansive treasure-hunting hunting elements: "You can acquire what you want, when you want (provided you have all of your abilities), and the scope of the city allows a diversity of environments necessary to avoid staleness."
Despite being a Nintendo-published Wii U title, "Undercover" doesn't make a particularly innovative use of the console's gamepad. Players will be happy using the screen as a map when they need to navigate, or as a "Zombii U"-esque scanner to find collectibles, but that feels lackluster compared to what could have been. Edge was unhappy with Nintendo's use of the mini-map.
"Lego City Undercover" sounds like a good game. Like many "good" games, though, it leaves some players hungry for the great game they see just out of reach. Kotaku's Stephen Totilo endorses the game, but wonders why "Undercover" doesn't do more to emulate the experience that draws kids to Lego toys in the first place: "This is typical of the "Lego" games and symptomatic of the half of the "Lego" toy philosophy that these games embrace: whereas the non-Lego but very Lego-like game "Minecraft" is all about taking a pile of bricks and making anything out of it, these official Lego games are very much about following directions."
"Lego City Undercover" hits stores March 18.
