I was sent a copy of LEGO Friends for the Nintendo 3DS to play and review. Opinions of the game are 100% my own.

In our house we enjoy LEGO. We enjoy building from the LEGO sets and we enjoy the LEGO based video games. We’ve played the Batman 2, LEGO city Undercover and LEGO Marvel Super Heroes on the Wii and Wii U. I liked LEGO city so much I bought the 3DS game when it came out. Those games are great and fun but Eva wasn’t as interested in playing them. She liked building Super Hero LEGO sets with me but really enjoys the LEGO Friends line. Now she can enjoy the LEGO friends as a game on the Nintendo 3DS. Here’s a quick game overview.

Welcome to amazing Heartlake City where summer fun awaits! Meet your new LEGO® Friends and join them on exciting adventures that build friendships with the girls and allow you to express your individual style and personality as you explore the city. Shop for the latest outfits and accessories, select the perfect hairstyle, decorate your bedroom and even pick out a pet. Choose how to spend your summer vacation; whether you’d rather attend horse riding camp, perfect a dance routine, play soccer, practice karate, or care for an animal at the rescue center, you can do these things and more as you express your creativity, and build fun memories with your five new friends!Here is the official Trailer.

I played the game first and I played it for a couple of hours. The gameplay is very much like other LEGO games however instead of running around destroying stuff and getting bricks you are running around helping out your friends on various little missions. Your character is the cousin of Olivia. You arrive at her house and immediately begin helping her out. Through your missions you are rewarded with a pet, a room and a way to communicate with the LEGO Friends.

As someone who enjoys the way that you play in LEGO City Undercover and LEGO Marvel Super Heroes it was nice to take a slower pace and solve problems without blowing some stuff up. The game is built on building friendships with the LEGO Friends and that means helping them out. You might help a friend with a Soccer game or help out in the pet salon. There are many things that your character can do in so many places all around Heartlake City. There are times when you may even need help from your pets. You start off with a dog but eventually you earn a pet cat and additional pets. You can take control of the pet and walk, jump and interact with the world as that pet. Each one has a special ability to help you out in certain situations.

I was pleasantly surprised that this game held my interest for as long as it did. I found myself wanting to solve more of the challenges that arose during gameplay and I really wanted to amass as much money as I could so that I could buy the things that my character would need. When you pick up LEGO bricks you get money added to your account to use to buy treats or clothes and more.

A key part of the game is adding your own personality to the game play. You can change the look of your character and your pets and also your room. There are many ways to express your own individuality as a player in the game. I think this is a wonderful family game and I am happy to let Eva play it. Once I’m done.

Here are some of the additional game features.

• Express Yourself: Pick out your clothing, hairstyle and accessories, decorate your bedroom the way you want, choose your favorite animal as a pet and even pick out accessories for your pet!
• Meet New LEGO Friends: Join your new friends on unique adventures. Help Andrea decide what to sing at her concert, or take photos for Emma’s newspaper article. Enjoy different activities with each girl as you learn about her unique personality, interests and personal style.
• Enjoy Total Freedom: Explore Heartlake City and decide how you want to spend your time. Hang out with your friends at the cafe, play soccer, attend dance rehearsal, or master skills at the karate dojo.
• Build Your Friendships: Help your Friends on special adventures like winning a trophy in a horse riding competition or delivering cupcakes, and your friendship levels with the girls will grow closer to “True Friend” status. On some adventures you’ll even unlock in-game money that you can use for shopping!
• Care for Your Pet: Train your pet to do tricks, groom them, feed them treats, and enter them in a pet show. Each pet has a special skill that they can use to help you on your adventures. You can even trade places with your fun-loving pet so you can play the game from her perspective.
• Scrapbook Your Adventures: Use your in-game camera for photo-ops and create a beautiful scrapbook of fun memories, so you’ll never forget your summer adventures in Heartlake City.