For more on LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins, check out our full LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins review. Or, for more of the best Nintendo 3DS games for a 7 year old, why not try our Family Game Finder
What is Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins?
Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins is a prequel to the Wii U's Lego City Undercover, this time designed for Nintendo's portable 3DS console. Set two years prior to the events of the Wii U game, it follows the then-rookie cop Chase McCain's rise through the police ranks and tells the story of how he managed to put the criminal mastermind Rex Fury behind bars where he belongs. Much like the other Lego games, you'll be spending most of your time smashing stuff up, rebuilding bricks into something more useful and finding hidden collectables - if your child's enjoyed any of the Lego games in the past, then the odds are you'll love this one too.
How do you play Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins?
With dozens of short bite-sized missions perfect for short portable play sessions on offer, you'll be finding criminals, following criminals and fighting criminals, with the occasional doughnut run, dog rescue or citizen crane rescue thrown in for good measure. Each mission tries to mix things up a touch to keep things interesting - Chase has a number of tricks and abilities at his disposal that mean sometimes you'll be scanning the surroundings for audio clips, sometimes you'll be smashing and rebuilding Lego bricks to solve a simple puzzle, while other times may see you leaping, sliding and zip-wiring across the rooftops of Lego City. As you play you'll also unlock new disguises for the little Lego crime-fighter, each of which gives him certain abilities - for example, while dressed as a robber he can crowbar his way through locked doors, while the farmer outfit lets him glide through the skies holding onto a chicken.
How easy is Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins to pick up and play?
In traditional Lego game style, Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins is a perfectly family-friendly title with plenty of prompts, infinite lives and a low difficulty curve that makes it great for even the most inexperienced of players. However, while the game's slapstick humour and silliness are sure to appeal to kids, they will need to have a decent reading skill to fully enjoy the game as, unlike it's Wii U big brother, the 3DS game doesn't have entirely voiced dialogue, instead telling most of the story, and crucial mission details, through text only.
Like all the other Lego games, Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins is about as family-friendly as you can get. There's no guts, gore or bad language at all, and the only violence involves your little Lego policeman punching and kicking the criminals until they give up and let you handcuff them, at which point they vanish into thin air.
Age Ratings
Format Reviewed: Nintendo 3DS
