Lego City Undercover released way back in March 2014 for the Nintendo Wii U and 3DS, the Wii U version especially was held in high regard, largely been dubbed as the Grand Theft Auto for kids. However, seeing at the time it was exclusive to the Nintendo platforms, there were a lot of fans that never got to see what all the fuss was about. Thankfully now three years on, Lego City Undercover has made its way to the PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch, and considering this is a three year old game that perhaps not many had asked for, it’s an enjoyable entry that has aged well and much like practically any other Lego videogame in existence, it’s a game for all ages.
You play as Chase McCain, a loose-cannon cop that is brought back to the Lego City Police Department to finally bring down his arch nemesis, Rex Fury! In this tongue-in-cheek cop movie parody funfest, Chase will have unlimited resources of the Police Department to ensure that justice will prevail in Lego City, even though he will more than likely cost the city far more in damages and destruction along the way.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you’ve played pretty much any other Lego videogame (especially recently), then you’ll know what to expect here. The story is wacky, the gameplay is easy to pick-up, there’s plenty of mayhem to cause and similar to games such as Lego Marvel Super Heroes, Lego City Undercover is not only filled with an original story campaign full of laughs, but there’s also plenty of side-activities to distract you from the main campaign if you feel like taking a detour in search many unlockables and perks that may be available.
Throughout the campaign our protagonist Chase McCain will have to undergo many cunning disguises if he is going to successfully bring down criminal Kingpin; Rex Fury. You’ll have to fool the bad guys by going “undercover” and work your way up the criminal hierarchy to get close to the big boss. From a straight-out cop, a miner, robber and more, each cunning disguise will have their own unique skills and abilities as you progress. Of course as you progress through the campaign and unlock further abilities, it will not only aid you during your initial mission playthrough, but they’ll also come in handy during free-play and throughout the huge wondrous city of Lego. And of course if you can do all this with a friend or in my case, my six year old son with the fun only doubling in mayhem.
All-in-all, Lego City Undercover is a solid port on its new and improved platforms. It’s difficult to say any negative about this game if you’re a fan of the series, but if I had to be picky, I’d say the initial load-time leading into the main menu takes longer then it perhaps should and despite the game having such an emphasis on vehicles, most of them can be very fiddly to manoeuvre. However, even though your main gadget, a tablet, shows its Wii U heritage (which will certainly benefit the Switch version), the game looks just as good as all the recent Lego games in this packed franchise and while you could easily wait for a price-drop, Lego City Undercover is in my opinion one of the funniest games in the series to date and you’ll struggle to find a game that provides as many genuine laughs, regardless of your generation.