The Chase Begins on the 3DS, but is a chase worth pursuing?
Lego City Undercover for Wii U was a great game and probably the best Lego game to date, it also made the best uses of the Wii U’s Gamepad and made it stand out, the 3DS version is set before the events of the game and has Chase McCain work his way up the ranks of the police force and to catch Rex Fury. But can the handheld hold up to the console version?
In terms of enjoyment, it provides almost the same level of fun as the Wii U version. But the problem is the scale has been reduced due to the limits of the hardware, or so it feels. The 3DS version has tons of fog to try and conceal the draw distance, voice-acting is minimal and the story is mostly told through text boxes. The missions are also easier and shorter too, while the overall game is over quite quickly.
The performance lets the game down with its framerate, almost as much fog as in Turok and the smaller scale of things just hurt the game on the whole. It’s still fun, but it’s not nearly as funny as it should have been.
The Verdict
Longer load times, a rough framerate and significantly less humour due to the lack of voice-acting makes the 3DS version weak in comparison. Perhaps it’s a little unfair to do so, but it’s hard not to. It’s still a decent enough game, it just lacks the comedic value and quality that the Wii U version has in spades. It’s a shame because on its own merits, it’s an enjoyable experience but it can’t stack up when compared.
