Lego 2K Drive is here, but how good is it?
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00:002K and Visual Concepts get their first shot at the LEGO franchise and have instantly delivered
00:09one of gaming's most convincing open world races in LEGO 2K Drive.
00:13All the competition, challenges and collectathon good times you might expect are present, complementing
00:18a solid single player story-led adventure.
00:21Your vehicle instantly and automatically switches between street, car, boat and off-roader depending
00:26on the terrain that's under your wheels at any one time, allowing you to zoom across
00:30land or water without worry.
00:32This makes for breathless races and unrestricted exploration, exactly what a modern open world
00:37racer needs.
00:38And no element of LEGO 2K Drive feels compromised or cobbled together, it's all very assured.
00:44LEGO 2K Drive comprises of three main areas, there's a LEGOified version of Arizona called
00:49Big Butt County, yes it's very funny but it's actually pronounced boot, a Transylvania-esque
00:55spooky themed area and a Prospecto Valley, essentially an Oregon-like gold rush mining
01:00settlement with trees all around.
01:02There's also one more small area that's all you have access to begin with, which is basically
01:06just a green LEGOLAND which serves as the perfect introduction to the game, especially
01:10for young players.
01:12Even after the intro there's no escaping the child-focused delivery.
01:15Not only are you constantly referred to as kid throughout your story, the 2K portal even
01:19asks you to verify your child's email, assuming that you're making an account for a minor
01:24instead of for yourself.
01:25Adults like LEGO too, come on now.
01:28But the ironic thing is that LEGO 2K Drive soon reveals higher levels of challenge and
01:32skill depth clearly designed to challenge those already well-versed in racing games.
01:37There's loads of scope for properly skilful play by mastering the subtleties of a deceptively
01:41deep control scheme, with its separate drift and sharp turn buttons.
01:45And there's a perk system which unlocks as you progress, affording everything from
01:49defence buffs for your vehicle to a double jump later on.
01:52There does however appear to be some degree of rubberbanding going on during the races.
01:56No matter how well you drive, the leader, or maybe another car or two, will always zoom
02:01out of sight, reappearing within a lap to go before vying for you for first place before
02:06suddenly losing some speed, either by getting taken out by a weapon or just going slower
02:10than it needs to so that you win.
02:12It isn't as pronounced later on in the campaign, so LEGO 2K Drive isn't at all watered down,
02:17but races do often feel artificially close when you get a feel for what you're doing.
02:22That said, the gameplay itself is excellent, races are fast, responsive, impressive to
02:26look at, and LEGO 2K Drive even runs at a reasonably solid 60fps for the most part on
02:31an Xbox Series X.
02:33Despite the screen being filled with the scattered LEGO bricks and scenery elements, not to mention
02:37dynamic waves in the water and some of the most convincing mud spray effects I've seen
02:42for a while, it's big, bold and beautiful, and some of the later races are truly superb.
02:47Many of the best LEGO games are known for their silly sense of humour, and while that
02:51is present here with some excellent character names, sight gags and funny signage, 2K Drive
02:56isn't as witty as some of the other games.
02:58It's all good fun and kids will undoubtedly laugh at the few, thankfully infrequent toilet
03:03jokes, but it's seldom laugh out loud funny, offering just enough to make you smile.
03:08In 2K Drive you can start with four wheels and literally build your dream car from scratch,
03:13brick by brick.
03:14Even better than that, any pre-built car you find has instructions that let you build it
03:18yourself on the screen, which could absolutely be replicated in real life with real bricks.
03:23It's superb.
03:24While each of these cards do have unique handling and characteristics, there's nothing to stop
03:28you just sticking with one loadout for the vast majority of LEGO 2K Drive and remaining
03:32competitive throughout.
03:33This also extends to the weapon set.
03:35This game is based more on cornering and jumping to find shortcuts than mastering the weapon
03:40system, which feels loose and imprecise compared to say, Disney's Speedstorm or Mario Kart
03:458 Deluxe.
03:46Nonetheless, the weapon element does make 2K Drive feel more like a kart racer than
03:50a straight racing game, though the scope, speed and scale of the courses means it rarely
03:54feels as compact as the genre's best.
03:57The campaign isn't as long as you might expect given the game's size, with the story mode
04:01easily beatable in a weekend at around 8-10 hours long.
04:04You spend most of your time entering races and beating rivals, each with their own backstory
04:08and daft characterisation, earning chequered flags from wins until you have enough to enter
04:12the area's Grand Brick Arena, which is a special one-off showcase race with bombastic
04:17spectacle.
04:18Once the story mode is done, there's still some 80% of the game itself to tick off, and
04:22it will surely take weeks to find everything and complete every challenge that LEGO 2K
04:27Drive has to offer.
04:28Then there's online mode, where you can race with friends or in public lobbies which
04:32support crossplay.
04:33If you sign into a 2K account, you can even carry your progress across to another platform,
04:37which is becoming a very welcome trend in games like this.
04:40There's also the ability to play the whole of LEGO 2K Drive in split-screen with a friend
04:44in local multiplayer.
04:46This allows each player to go wherever they like within the same biome and play the game
04:49at their own pace, together or apart, until a player decides to change biomes or start
04:54a race.
04:55It runs beautifully with only a hint more draw in on the distant scenery.
04:59It's very, very slick.
05:00Indeed, LEGO 2K Drive is absolutely a very classy game.
05:04It looks great, runs well, is fully featured and well balanced to ensure that everyone
05:08has a good time.
05:10LEGO 2K Drive is an easy recommendation then, regardless of whether you're looking for a
05:13gift for a child or just want a wholesome palate cleanser for yourself.
05:18We give it 4 stars out of 5.