Lego City Undercover

[Popo]

Hi guys - I heard Matthew Castle talk about this as one of his games of 2013 in the most recent Back Page Pod and saw that it’s Deck compatible, and a snip at £4.39 on CD Keys. 
 

How does it hold up from a 2022 perspective? I’ve never played a Lego game, believe it or not, so the idea of dipping my toe in to see what Traveller’s Tales have been putting out for the past 15 or so years is appealing, but mainly Matthew sold it to me big time. 

[moosegrinder]

It's still ace.

[Popo]

Sounds good to me, thanks! Bought. 

[scottcr]

It’s ace. My favourite GTA game

[carlospie]

Its an amazing game full stop. So many funny bits 

[memories]

It's a lot of fun but there is almost too much stuff to do, new little side things popping up all the time.

[Popo]

I did buy it, and have played about 45 minutes. It’s just as charming as I was promised! Although the prospect of new Saints Row later in the year, and the desire to play GTA V again, now it’s had a next gen version released, is giving me the open world fear somewhat. 
 

I think I’ll stick with this for now though! It’s lovely looking too, considering it’s age. 

[teddymeow]

1 hour ago, scottcr said:

It’s ace. My favourite GTA game

 

I'll second this.

[SeanR]

I’ve had it on switch for two years… still sealed. This might change these next 8 days.

[gospvg]

Where is the sequel?

[b00dles]

It has an ending sequence that's of the same amazingly high calibre as the airport in max Payne 3.

[Dr Derek Doctors]

5 hours ago, gospvg said:

Where is the sequel?

 

Never happening!

[electricmastro]

Surprising how this game never really gets brought up when discussing how "Lego games are all the same". It's a pretty fun and quirky action-adventure driving game that I think anyone could get into.

[Aurelius]

Just bought it for my kids (5 and 7) since it's discounted on the eStore now.

[rgraves]

On 10/08/2022 at 20:28, Dr Derek Doctors said:

 

Never happening!

 

That's a pretty decisive statement - is there a story or reason [which you can share] you can be so bold? I ask because I'd have loved to have seen another #sadface

[deKay]

24 minutes ago, rgraves said:

 

That's a pretty decisive statement - is there a story or reason [which you can share] you can be so bold? I ask because I'd have loved to have seen another #sadface

He also said it was never coming to a non-Nintendo console

 

There is a prequel though - on the 3DS. It’s very good.

[Darwock]

This is pretty old now but I’ve always been interested. What is it about this one that makes it feel so different from the other LEGO games (which do very much follow a template)? Does it have the same level of jank that you usually expect? It’s older so I figure there will actually be more.

[partious]

25 minutes ago, Darwock said:

This is pretty old now but I’ve always been interested. What is it about this one that makes it feel so different from the other LEGO games (which do very much follow a template)? Does it have the same level of jank that you usually expect? It’s older so I figure there will actually be more.

 

I guess the main/only thing that differentiates it is the open world. The story missions are standard Lego game template stuff. 

I think it does a much better job than "serious" open world games of actually making the experience of interacting with the open world at least somewhat entertaining instead of just a slog, but that's more an indictment of the average joyless AAA open world than high praise for this game.

[Darwock]

Thanks - how does the open world stuff stack up to the open world bits of LEGO Dimensions in that case? I’m imagining it to be very similar.

[Vorgot]

25 minutes ago, Darwock said:

This is pretty old now but I’ve always been interested. What is it about this one that makes it feel so different from the other LEGO games (which do very much follow a template)? Does it have the same level of jank that you usually expect? It’s older so I figure there will actually be more.

 

It also doesn't have to stay true to any source material, so the developers could let their imaginations rip. It's properly funny as well. It just doesn't feel like the other Lego games, and the open world is more open than in Dimensions, its one entity rather than a bunch of stuff strung together. 

[K]

The story missions in this are much better than the ones in other Lego games - they’re quite substantial, imaginative, and nowhere near as obscure and frustrating as the story bits in, say, the Lego Star Wars games. I’m playing through the Skywalker Saga at the moment with my son, and while the open world is quite impressive, the story levels are often a bit perfunctory - the entire first half of a film will be dealt with by one on-rails shooting sequence, or by a single base defence level. 
 

In Lego City Undercover, the open world and the levels are top notch. I keep banging on about this, but I’d say this is probably the best parent & child co-op game I’ve ever played. It caters for players at almost any level of skill, so it’s fun to play if you’re a tiny child who just mashes buttons, an older child just getting to grips with the controls, and an adult who’s been playing games for years. It’s a magnificent achievement, and quite underrated I would say. 

[bobin]

It’s great but the loading times

were a nightmare on Wii U. 
 

But “compuper” made everything better. 

[evilashchris]

Are the loading times any better on the switch?

[Rayn]

16 minutes ago, evilashchris said:

Are the loading times any better on the switch?

 

They are slightly better but still not great. 

[Dr Derek Doctors]

3 hours ago, rgraves said:

 

That's a pretty decisive statement - is there a story or reason [which you can share] you can be so bold? I ask because I'd have loved to have seen another #sadface

 

They just spent three years on making Star Wars so I really doubt there's an appetite to do another long project any time soon. And it's sure as shit not a big enough property for a console maker to consider bankrolling a sequel. I know there was a desire from some of the people within the company to do it, but despite them entertaining the notion, nothing's ever come of it so I'm basically certain it'll never happen.

[TehStu]

You can ride Lego trains in this. I don't know what else to say.

[deKay]

2 hours ago, partious said:

I guess the main/only thing that differentiates it is the open world. The story missions are standard Lego game template stuff. 

Many of the other Lego games are open world too - Avengers, Marvel Super Heroes 1&2, DC Villains, Lego Batman 2&3, Lego Skywalker Saga…

[deKay]

1 hour ago, evilashchris said:

Are the loading times any better on the switch?

They’re much better (and some are gone completely) but those that remain are still pretty long.

[deKay]

2 hours ago, Darwock said:

Thanks - how does the open world stuff stack up to the open world bits of LEGO Dimensions in that case? I’m imagining it to be very similar.

Similar but waaaaay more to do.

[Fletch]

The open world is great as the further you get into the story the more abilities you get to reach otherwise impossible areas, my son and I had an absolute blast playing through this game on the Wii U and again in 2 player on the Xbox. It’s funny, charming and inventive.