axisofweevils
Holy crap! Today's real megaton is that more than two people can have the same first name.
Lock if old.
This has got me even more hyped for the game. I've quoted selectively, see the full article here - http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...nd-might-just-save-the-wii-u-into-the-bargain
This has got me even more hyped for the game. I've quoted selectively, see the full article here - http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...nd-might-just-save-the-wii-u-into-the-bargain
The Lego series has always had a sharp edge of parody, but freed from specific franchises Lego City Undercover is like a kid in a sweet shop, plucking references and spoofs from across the pop culture spectrum. There's a cutscene that riffs on Goodfellas with pinpoint accuracy, while one level takes The Shawshank Redemption as its starting point. The Lego City police station, meanwhile, counts Lego versions of Starsky and Hutch, Dirty Harry, Columbo and even Sherlock Holmes among its employees.
There are some new gameplay elements, such as collectible bricks left behind when you smash the scenery. These can be saved up to create Super Builds - large structures that perform specific functions in the City. A story mission might need you to build a bridge, for example, or you can use them to erect spawn points for the many vehicles you amass.
How many? Over 100 playable vehicles is the official count, including helicopters, tractors and everything in between. In a nice touch, you can choose the colour of the vehicle before it's delivered, so if you hanker after a bright pink police motorbike, you're in luck. There are also 65 of the aforementioned Super Builds to find, 450 gold bricks and 40 red power-up bricks to earn, and 290 disguises for Chase, granting him new abilities. The city itself matches the game for sheer scale, a shimmering and inviting place, with generous draw distances and silky smooth visuals. It's a gorgeous and massive game.
The result is a game that contains all the hallmarks that have made the Lego games so popular, with comfortably familiar mechanics and gameplay systems, but the canvas is much broader and feels subtly different. The Wii U game pad is used shrewdly, doubling as map screen, communicator and detective gadget as the situation demands. In one of the most impressive features, you can hold it up and scan a real time wireframe version of the city, not just on the screen but for a full 360 degrees around you.
Work began in 2010, and various prototypes were tried and rejected. The traditional fixed camera from the other Lego games was quickly abandoned. At one point there was going to be a Sim City style construction element. By 2011, the game was taking its current shape. "That's when Nintendo came to see us," Loz recalls. "They brought the Wii U with them, with the new game pad. We could instantly see it was a perfect match. All the design guys were like 'Oh my god, the things we can do with this'. It just seemed to fit perfectly."
Even so, the ambitions for the game far outstripped anything either of the TT studios had worked on before, with the open world structure requiring considerable reinvention. "The streaming," says Loz of the game's biggest technical challenge. "Creating a city, obviously you have to stream. You're constantly hitting the disc. The amount of stuff we had to have in memory, that was difficult. We had to rewrite the way all the Lego bits were processed because we have a lot more Lego than we're used to in any one area. God, there were loads of things that needed to be done. New physics engine. Not just new vehicles but the whole traffic system, which is really difficult for a city. Pedestrians. So many things had to be written from scratch. All the voice acting. It was hard."
It's certainly a great showcase for the beleaguered Wii U, which has lost one of its key exclusives in recent weeks. The controversial delay of Rayman Legends, and its escape to multi-format waters, now makes Lego City Undercover the console's big mass market hope for a spring sales boost.
"It's great," says Loz, utterly unphased by the prospect of providing Nintendo's first blockbuster release of the year. "We're obviously really pleased with the game. If it wasn't very good then we'd probably feel under pressure, but it's our best Lego game and that's really saying something. We're really chuffed. It's the best game on the Wii U." There's not much competition for that accolade at the moment, but don't be surprised if that boast still rings true in five years time.