Software:Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins

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Short description: 2013 action-adventure video game

Lego City Undercover:
The Chase Begins
Cover art depicting Chase McCain (left) and Rex Fury (right) in the foreground
Developer(s)TT Fusion
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Nick Elms
Producer(s)Azusa Tajima
Masakazu Miyazaki
Rob Shepherd
Designer(s)Mike Bareham
Nolan Worthington
Programmer(s)Patrick Senior
Writer(s)Graham Goring
Mike Bareham
Composer(s)Simon Withenshaw
Suddi Raval
Paul Weir
Platform(s)Nintendo 3DS
Release
  • NA: April 21, 2013
  • EU: April 26, 2013
  • AU: April 27, 2013
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins is an action-adventure game developed by TT Fusion and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. Released in April 2013, it is based on the Lego City theme and serves as a prequel to Lego City Undercover, released one month prior for the Wii U. Set two years before the events of the original game, The Chase Begins follows rookie cop Chase McCain as he attempts to arrest Rex Fury, the city's most wanted criminal.

First announced at E3 2011 as Lego City Stories, the title was designed as a distinct game from its Wii U counterpart, incorporating 3DS-specific features while aiming for an immersive open world within the console's technical limitations. Several locations have been modified, and the game features a more linear progression structure, with missions taking place directly in the overworld as bite-sized tasks, replacing the Wii U version's longer, self-contained levels.

Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its charm, amount of content, and diverse missions, but criticized the lack of challenge and repetitive gameplay. While its ambition to create a large open world on the 3DS received praise, technical issues, such as long loading times, the short render distance, and an unstable framerate, were criticized. The game sold over 2 million units worldwide as of December 31, 2020.

Gameplay

Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins is an action-adventure game set in an open world in which the player fights crime in Lego City as police officer Chase McCain.[1][2] The player targets gangs by chasing after criminals, building Lego objects by breaking apart and repurposing other objects, and finding collectible items like outfits. The world is generally split into various sections which are locked off until the player defeats the boss of a gang in a certain section.[3] With each section, a new gang is introduced, and the player unlocks a new outfit which helps navigate the environment.[3][4] The missions usually involve fighting characters, platforming sections, and fetch quests. The player can drive vehicles across the map, and helicopters are used to fast travel between different locations.[5][6]

Compared to its Wii U counterpart, where missions take place in standalone levels, The Chase Begins follows a more linear approach in which missions take place directly in the city.[7] The missions are shorter and simpler than in the Wii U game.[7]

Plot

Two years before the events of Lego City Undercover, Chase McCain, a rookie cop working for the Lego City Police Department, is tasked with arresting the city's most wanted man, Rex Fury. To find him, Chase must explore the city and complete several missions.

As far as story connections go, it was Chase who accidentally revealed that Natalia Kowalski, his girlfriend who previously worked as a news reporter, turned out to be the secret witness in the Rex trial, which forced her to go under witness protection. As a result, Chase was eventually exiled from Lego City, but not before he attempted to fix his mistakes by pursuing Rex and the criminals that work for him. It also outlines how Chase managed to arrest Rex Fury. Furthermore, the game reveals that Mayor Gleeson, a character also featured in Lego City Undercover, was formerly the chief of police, and how Chief Dunby was just a deputy officer.

Development

Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins was announced during Nintendo's press conference at E3 2011 on June 7, 2011, with the tentative name Lego City Stories.[8] On January 17, 2013, the game was revealed to be named Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins, and that it would be a prequel to the Wii U game.[9] It was released in April 2013.[1]

From the beginning, the developers had the vision to make The Chase Begins and its Wii U counterpart "two very different games".[10] Features exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS, such as StreetPass, its touchscreen and gyroscope, were incorporated into the game.[10] Developers focused on creating an open world that would feel as immersive and realistic as possible while considering the technical limitations of the 3DS.[10] Some of the game world's features include a traffic system, free roam gameplay, and side missions, the latter with a focus to also take place on the city's rooftops.[11] As the game takes place two years prior to the Wii U game, several locations have intentionally been modified.[10]

On December 22, 2020, Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins was removed from the Nintendo eShop, along with the original Wii U game.[12]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic62/100[13]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid5.5/10[14]
Eurogamer7/10[7]
Famitsu32/40[15]
Game Informer6/10[16]
GameRevolution8/10[17]
GameZone7.5/10[18]
IGN6.3/10[19]
Nintendo Life6/10[20]
Nintendo World Report5.5/10[21]
ONM64%[22]
Pocket Gamer3.5/5[23]
Digital Spy3/5[24]
Metro3/10[25]

Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[13] Reviews praised the game's ambition to create a large open world on the limited hardware of the Nintendo 3DS.[19][22][26] Chris Vandergaag of Toronto Sun and Peter Nowak of The Globe and Mail enjoyed its high amount of content and collectibles.[27][26] IGN's Richard George and Official Nintendo Magazine's Chris Scullion negatively noted the game's dense fog, long loading times, and unstable framerate.[19][22] While Scullion found the game overall "technically impressive(ish)", he said navigating the world with its thick layers of fog and low density of non-player characters (NPCs) makes it feel "like you're wandering around a post-apocalyptic LEGO City", and compared the game's look to Silent Hill.[22]

IGN's George described the story and characters as "charming, memorable and incredibly funny", but noted that compared to the Wii U game, its gameplay and humor "are compromised, leaving something that is just decent."[19] Liam Martin of Digital Spy similarly praised the game's charm and "great cast of characters", while also enjoying its "mostly impressive visuals" and diverse missions and bosses.[24]

Nowak of The Globe and Mail criticized the game structure as repetitive, summarizing it as: "McCain goes to a new location in the city; discovers a new costume/ability; uses it to fetch some items a few times; fights a bunch of thugs along the way with a boss battle at the end of each section; then he gets a second new ability."[26] He also found the fights to occur too frequently and lack challenge.[26] Chad Sapieha of National Post considered the gameplay monotone, describing the objectives as "largely composed of simple fetch or fix scenarios", and similarly found the fights too frequent and their execution mediocre and repetitive: "Every fight plays out in almost identical fashion: a couple of button taps to throw a suspect down, another to cuff him. It grows tedious quickly."[28]

Mike LeChevallier of Slant Magazine gave it two stars out of five, saying, "With a full-bodied hike in attention to detail, The Chase Begins could have been a satisfying alternative for Lego fans who haven't yet obtained a Wii U, or simply gamers who've been bellowing for a well-made 3DS addition to the franchise. Disappointingly, what they've been allotted is a tattered set of hand-me-down Lego blocks, mismatched and marked with the fingerpaint smudges of those who've grown up and moved on to Minecraft."[29] David Jenkins of Metro said, "The Wii U game was just a few flaws short of a minor classic, but this joyless companion piece is only a couple more problems shy of a complete disaster."[25]

Between April 7th and May 4th of 2013, Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins had sold 94,000 copies in the United States, including both physical and digital sales.[30] On 12 September 2013, Nintendo announced that the game has sold 264,000 units in North America.[31] As of December 31, 2020, worldwide sales reached 2.04 million copies,[32] making it the 34th best-selling game for the Nintendo 3DS.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 East, Thomas (19 March 2013). "LEGO City Undercover 3DS release date confirmed". Future plc. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141024175554/http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/47809/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins-3ds-release-date-uk-confirmed/. Retrieved 20 March 2013. 
  2. ↑ Kain, Erik. "'LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins' Review (3DS)" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/sites/games/2013/04/21/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins-review-3ds/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 George, Richard (2013-04-24). "LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins Review" (in en). https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/04/24/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins-review. 
  4. ↑ "Review: LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins" (in en-US). https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins/. 
  5. ↑ Jenkins, David (2013-04-25). "Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins review – bricking it" (in en). https://metro.co.uk/2013/04/25/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins-review-bricking-it-3666082/. 
  6. ↑ "Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins review" (in en). 2013-04-21. https://www.gamesradar.com/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins-review/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Whitehead, Dan (19 April 2013). "Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins review". Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 17 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140917075836/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-04-19-lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins-review. Retrieved 18 March 2022. 
  8. ↑ East, Thomas (2011-06-07). "E3 2011: Lego City Stories announced" (in en). Official Nintendo Magazine. http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/27189/lego-city-stories-announced/. 
  9. ↑ Whitehead, Thomas (2013-01-17). "LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins Confirmed For 3DS" (in en-GB). https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/01/lego_city_undercover_the_chase_begins_confirmed_for_3ds. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Willington, Peter (2013-04-15). "Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins producer talks open worlds, Grand Theft Auto, and working with Nintendo" (in en). https://www.pocketgamer.com/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins-producer-talks-open-worlds-grand-theft-aut/. 
  11. ↑ "LEGO City Undercover Q&A: ‘It’s Like a Whole LEGO Game on Top of a City’" (in en). Time. 2013-03-06. https://time.com/archive/7232453/lego-city-undercover-qa-its-like-a-whole-lego-game-on-top-of-a-city/. 
  12. ↑ Craddock, Ryan (2021-01-06). "LEGO City: Undercover Games Removed From Wii U And 3DS eShops" (in en-US). https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/01/lego_city_undercover_games_removed_from_wii_u_and_3ds_eshops. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins for 3DS Reviews". Red Ventures. https://www.metacritic.com/game/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins/critic-reviews/?platform=3ds. Retrieved 18 March 2022. 
  14. ↑ Carter, Chris (23 April 2013). "Review: LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins". Enthusiast Gaming. https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins/. Retrieved 18 March 2022. 
  15. ↑ "レゴシティ アンダーカバー チェイス ビギンズ" (in ja). Famitsu (Enterbrain). https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=14388&redirect=no. Retrieved 18 March 2022. 
  16. ↑ Cork, Jeff (21 April 2013). "Lego City Undercover [The Chase Begins Review"]. Game Informer (GameStop). https://www.gameinformer.com/games/lego_city_undercover/b/3ds/archive/2013/04/21/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins-review.aspx. Retrieved 18 March 2022. 
  17. ↑ Schaller, Kevin (20 April 2013). "LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins Review". CraveOnline. https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/59859-lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins-review. Retrieved 19 March 2022. 
  18. ↑ Workman, Robert (4 May 2013). "Review: Lego City Undercover Serves Up Adequate Justice On the Nintendo 3DS". Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130507221208/https://www.gamezone.com/reviews/2013/05/04/review-lego-city-undercover-serves-up-adequate-justice-on-the-nintendo-3ds. Retrieved 19 March 2022. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 George, Richard (24 April 2013). "LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins Review". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/04/24/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins-review. Retrieved 24 April 2013. 
  20. ↑ Mason, Mike (18 April 2013). "LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins Review". Gamer Network. https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/3ds/lego_city_undercover_the_chase_begins. Retrieved 24 April 2013. 
  21. ↑ Bonds, Curtis (20 April 2013). "LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins". NINWR, LLC. https://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/33961/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins-nintendo-3ds. Retrieved 19 March 2022. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Scullion, Chris (29 April 2013). "LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins review". Future plc. Archived from the original on 6 June 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130606155829/http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/49082/reviews/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins-review-review/. Retrieved 18 March 2022. 
  23. ↑ Rose, Mike (22 April 2013). "Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins". Steel Media Ltd. https://www.pocketgamer.com/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins/. Retrieved 18 March 2022. 
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Martin, Liam (5 May 2013). "LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins review: An inferior 3DS edition". Hearst Communications. https://www.digitalspy.com/videogames/a478466/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins-review-an-inferior-3ds-edition/. Retrieved 18 March 2022. 
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Jenkins, David (25 April 2013). "Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins review – bricking it". Metro (DMG Media). https://metro.co.uk/2013/04/25/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins-review-bricking-it-3666082/. Retrieved 18 March 2022. 
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 Nowak, Peter (22 April 2013). "Lego City Undercover laugh lines missing in action on 3DS". The Globe and Mail (The Woodbridge Company). Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130501075100/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/gaming/game-reviews/lego-city-undercover-laugh-lines-missing-in-action-on-3ds/article11456444/. Retrieved 18 March 2022. 
  27. ↑ Vandergaag, Chris (1 May 2013). "'Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins' packs sizable fun into small package". Toronto Sun (Postmedia Network). Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130627084342/http://www.torontosun.com/2013/04/30/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins-packs-sizable-fun-into-small-package. Retrieved 18 March 2022. 
  28. ↑ Sapieha, Chad (23 April 2013). "Why does Lego City Undercover for 3DS remind us of Daniel Baldwin?". National Post (Postmedia Network). https://financialpost.com/technology/gaming/lego-city-undercover-for-3ds-is-a-disappointing-prequel-to-wii-u-hit-draft?r. Retrieved 18 March 2022. 
  29. ↑ LeChavallier, Mike (29 April 2013). "Review: Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins". Slant Magazine LLC. https://www.slantmagazine.com/games/lego-city-undercover-the-chase-begins/. Retrieved 18 March 2022. 
  30. ↑ Goldfarb, Andrew (2013-05-16). "Injustice, Dead Island Lead US Sales for April" (in en). https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/16/injustice-dead-island-lead-us-sales-for-april. 
  31. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (12 September 2013). "Pikmin 3 US sales reach 115,000 units". Red Ventures. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pikmin-3-us-sales-reach-115000-units/1100-6414410/. Retrieved 18 March 2022. 
  32. ↑ 2021CESAゲーム白書 (2021 CESA Games White Papers). Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association. 2021. ISBN 978-4-902346-43-5. 
  • Official website (archived)
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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