Review: 60353 Wild Animal Rescue Missions
Posted by Huw,
The three City Missions sets that are released later this week introduce a new way of building and interacting with LEGO sets, which I guess could be called 'gamification'.
Rather than following instructions from start to finish to complete a particular model, the builder is led through a number of tasks that encourage free building and problem-solving.
60353 Wild Animal Rescue Missions looks to be the most interesting of the three, not least because it contains some cool creatures, so I thought I'd use that one find out how it all works.
Summary
60353 Wild Animal Rescue Missions, 246 pieces.
£24.99 / $39.99 / €29.99 | 10.2p/16.3c/12.2c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
An interesting concept that should keep youngsters occupied for a few hours
- Excellent selection of minifigures and animals
- Focuses on problem-solving and free-building
- Requires phone or tablet to play
- Requires phone or tablet to play
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
The sets are packaged in square flip-top boxes which makes them handy for keeping the pieces in whilst playing the game. There are five numbered bags and no instructions: just a single sheet of paper with a QR code that needs to be scanned from within the LEGO Instructions Plus app to access the missions.
Before I look at that, though, let's take a look at some of the more interesting pieces in the set.
Minifigures
Three minifigures are provided which are all unique. The first mission of the game is to choose your character and their attire from the pieces in the two figures on the left. BrickLink may have some difficulty cataloguing them because there is not a right and a wrong way to assemble them!
The curly-haired female is introduced later on in the game.
All three have an animal rescue motif on their backs and overall they are very attractive and detailed torsos.
The curly-haired female has a hearing aid which is welcome, particularly as it was unnecessary and unseen under her voluminous hair-do. I'm not familiar with her hairpiece, and in the absence of an inventory, either online or at the back of the (non-existent) instructions, I can't tell you whether it's new or not. (Update: it was first used in 71031 Monica Rambeau)
Animals
The focus of the set is rescuing wild animals, so it comes with plenty.
This new version of the adult crocodile was introduced in 2015, but this is the first time I've encountered it: it's a vast improvement over the old one.
The baby croc first accompanied Marvel collectable minifigure 71031 Sylvie but appears here for the first time in lime green.
The hare has been produced before, but not in a particularly useful colour. It came in 75966 Hogwarts Room of Requirement, cast in transparent light blue with glitter. This dark nougat one is far more useful within a City setting.
If, like me, you are bereft of recent Harry Potter sets the chances are that you've not encountered the spread-winged owl before. I believe it's new in this colour and print. It looks excellent.
This toy rabbit piece's first appearance was accompanying 71027 Pyjama Girl in CMF series 20. Unfortunately the one included here is not printed.
Big cats, including two lion cubs, were introduced into the City theme last year. The piece has been cast in black for the first time here to represent a panther cub.
The frog has not been made in vibrant coral before.
Finally, the last piece I will bring to your attention is 80677 DESIGN PLATE 3X3 which is new this year and has been used to represent splashes of water or melted ice cream in other sets. Here, this new white one, is an owl dropping!
The app & missions
The missions are an extension of the Instructions Plus app so if you have that already you should find that it's just been updated to the latest version that includes them.
After scanning the QR code included in the box, or searching for the set by number, you are not presented with instructions as you are for other sets. Instead, you encounter a screen which looks like that of any other game, with an unlocked level and several locked ones which become available once you've completed the one before.
Mission one involves building your animal rescuer and selecting their accessories.
Mission two takes the form of instructions to build the basic animal rescue truck, which doesn't look like much but has room at the back for building things on and places to clip things onto to complete later missions.
Once that's built you're ready to tackle six animal rescue missions. They are introduced with a short animated video that explains what's happened to the animal and what you have to do to rescue it.
For example, mission 4, the owl has escaped and is causing traffic chaos in the city (including defecating on passing cars by the looks of it!)
It needs to be retrieved from the top of the traffic lights, and it is now up to you what to build using the pieces from the bags that you've been instructed to open in order to do so.
If you're stuck for ideas you can access hints, which in this case include building a cherry-picker on the back of the truck, erecting a ladder, or turning the truck into a helicopter!
Once you've built your solution you play out the scenario before moving onto the next mission.
"Try luring the stupid thing down with a bit of fish before it s**ts on anyone else!"
The bags are opened at various points throughout the game and here are all the parts that I did not highlight in the photos above which are not used to build the truck.
I've just noticed there's an official picture showing them, too:
Verdict
The concept is interesting. It encourages free building and problem-solving rather than slavishly following instructions and I can see it being a lot of fun for a 6-year-old. I suspect they'd need help and encouragement from a grown-up, though, although I don't have a 6-year-old at my disposal to find out. I plan to pass the other two sets on to someone who has, so we can get a better idea of how that age group interacts with them in future reviews.
It's hard to judge how long it would take to complete the game: whizzing through it to see how it worked probably took me about half an hour, but I was not physically completing all the missions. I reckon there's probably a good few hours of fun to be had if played properly.
There will be parents that dislike the idea of their kids needing more screen-time to play with their LEGO, but there will also be those who see the value of combining physical and digital play and LEGO is to be commended for trying out new ideas like this, even if the majority of them are failures.
As far as this particular set's appeal to AFOLs is concerned, it will be focused primarily on the animals, the majority of which are unique to this set, and the attractive minifigures, although there are a number of other useful pieces included as well.
This, and the other missions sets, will be available at LEGO.com from 1st June priced at £24.99 in the UK, €29.99 in Germany and an astronomical $39.99 in the USA!
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54 comments on this article
@Huw said:
"I'm not familiar with her hairpiece, and in the absence of an inventory, either online or at the back of the (non-existent) instructions, I can't tell you whether it's new or not. No doubt someone will inform me in the comments!"
It's from Monica Rambeau from the MCU CMF series.
So there are instructions after all, just not on paper ….
@iwybs said:
"So there are instructions after all, just not on paper …."
In this case, only for the truck and a few other accessories like the traffic lights
A very interesting concept. It will be intriguing to see how the other reviews pan out with the parent's opinions added.
£25 is better than I expected, I might pick it up as a parts pack.
I find it most interesting that the inspirational builds are not user-generated, because they sure look that way! Makes them that much more believable.
I think this is a great concept, I wonder what the price here will look like.
Ehh I don't know. Maybe I'm looking at it with my adult eyes, but the main build looks uninspired. As a parts pack it looks interesting, and I'm sure people will come up with much nicer builds with these bricks in total disregard for the missions aspect of it. Regardless, we'll have to wait and see.
@kongutahu said:
" @Huw said:
"I'm not familiar with her hairpiece, and in the absence of an inventory, either online or at the back of the (non-existent) instructions, I can't tell you whether it's new or not. No doubt someone will inform me in the comments!"
It's from Monica Rambeau from the MCU CMF series."
It's also in the hospital 60330 and it's part number is 78301.
The printed version of the toy rabbit has been in a couple of other sets: Heartlake Shopping Mall 41450 and 123 Sesame Street 21324.
The faceless bunny is disturbing, no matter if it's a chewing toy or not =(
Vibrant coral frogs though. I kinda need it.
@LegoSonicBoy said:
"I think this is a great concept, I wonder what the price here will look like."
All recent £25 sets seem to come through at $50 here. That's my bet.
@kongutahu said:
" @Huw said:
"I'm not familiar with her hairpiece, and in the absence of an inventory, either online or at the back of the (non-existent) instructions, I can't tell you whether it's new or not. No doubt someone will inform me in the comments!"
It's from Monica Rambeau from the MCU CMF series."
I found it funny that the baby croc got mentioned from Marvel CMF but Monica got overlooked. Haha. Poor Monica.
It's a nice idea. But, why is a tablet necessary? Couldn't be made on paper, like a comic?
Fantastic set for new animals :D
I wonder how long it will take the LOTR fans before the first moc of Radagast sleigh pop up using the hare mould ;)
I'm delighted to see that hare getting reused, but what I really want to see is the otter!
I think that these sets, and this one in particular, will be of great interest to our 4 and 6-year-olds. The younger one will love the animals, and the older one will appreciate the "free building" and narrative aspects of the Missions. It has been fascinating to watch their respective relationships with LEGO grow and evolve over time. The 4yo just wants to build "sets" and follow instructions, and can do it for hours. The 6yo is strongly opposed to using the instructions and just wants a pile of useful parts to make something fun.
I am so getting this set eventually, I have a Panther waiting for her child.
As a hearing aid user, I found it really nice to see representation on a Lego minifigure!
I was LEGO Fusion’s one fan as a kid, I might be able to overlook the PPP in America (or wait for the increasingly rare discount) and try it out at some point. LEGO games have always had crap jokes but seeing pooping get explicitly acknowledged in a set is an epic poop moment.
Well it's different anyway, it'll be interesting to see how well they sell. Personally I prefer some good old fashioned paper instructions though
@kongutahu, thanks for IDing the hairpiece.
I love this concept of type of set and the value seems there (in Euro at least).
This one has more focus on animals so the parts are a bit less in number (yet still has cool stuff like the tree-stump suit)
The Spaceship and Police Boat missions look great too, especially as parts packs expansions.
Nice review! However, did you mean to include "Requires phone or tablet to play" in both the pro and con columns of the summary? It seems to me like even if you consider the phone/tablet features a pro in some ways and a con in others, it'd make more sense to describe the positive and negative aspects differently between the two columns (e.g. "Features a unique interactive building guide for phones and tablets" in the pro column and "Requires a phone or tablet to access the building guide" in the con column).
Anyway, I'm not totally sure how well this concept will take off, but I definitely think it's neat to see LEGO exploring new ways of using digital technology to augment traditional LEGO building and play. I can't help but think back to all the sets with digital integration from my KFOL years in the 90s and early 2000s (albeit using CD-ROM software and/or PC peripherals instead of mobile devices and apps), such as 8299, 8429, 1349, and 9719.
A lot of those attempts at digital integration were far from perfect, mind you, but they certainly didn't diminish the enjoyment I got out of the sets themselves. If anything, they gave me a way to use the limited "screen time" permitted by my parents in a way that helped inspire new stuff to build and play with when I was "logged off".
Frankly, mobile device integration like this fixes one of the big drawbacks of those digital-integrated LEGO play experiences I remember from back then: having to jump back and forth between a computer desk and a more comfortable building space (like the floor or a coffee table) to get the most out of both the digital and physical parts of the experience.
As for the set itself, this is probably my favorite of the new "Mission" sets — not just for having so many great animals, but also for having so many great scenery builds and elements that can be easily integrated with the new road system (or any other sort of "tabletown").
The main truck build is admittedly pretty plain and unremarkable, but it looks good enough to fit in with other City builds (especially once you spruce up the truck bed with some of the loose parts provided), and includes some pretty neat parts in its own right like those Bright Green wheel arches. So I'm not nearly as "meh" about it as I would be about some 4+ City vehicles.
So while this set certainly isn't aimed at AFOLs like us, it seems like a nifty concept that kids could get a lot of enjoyment out of! And hopefully, regardless of how well these particular sets do, LEGO will learn a lot from them that they can apply to future digital endeavors — perhaps even ones that are a little more up my alley.
@Aanchir, I did mean to include it in both columns: it's a pro and a con. Pro in that it provides an novel and interactive building experience, and a con because it encourages screen-time which I believe is not necessarily as good thing.
I think this will have issues just like the Hidden theme. Now I get that its really meant as a 'free form' product of sorts. I get people will want the animals (like me). However it appears that the assumption is that every kid has access to a mobile device that they can use with the set, or that parents want this to occur. Yes Yes Im sure there will be people that reply to my comment saying 'I have a kid and have no issues with them using my device', great for them and you, but I think assumptions LEGO seems to make about ease of having such devices is a bit out of touch (Especially seeing discounts needing to be made of Hidden theme sets to move them or the disaster that was Vidiyos at least in the US). Having said all of that, the bigger issue for me is the 39.99 USD cost.. why so much over the other regions (besides another obvious cash grab) I mean call it what you will try: Shipping costs, inflation, yadda yadda yadda) but I think in the end its more gouging than those other effects.
We were so looking forward to these sets, that we (me and my 5yo) decided to build the basic truck using our own pieces and the app. It's true what you say about encouraging them a little to think outside the box, but this also proofs its great power: playing together. We had so much fun doing the different scenarios with me playing the owl, that it turns out that it's a great game/toy to play together with. I highly rate it (and the app) and I haven't even bought the set yet :)
I wonder how these sets will fair when the apps are inevitably de-listed from various platforms because they became outdated.
Love the flip-top box. Love the animals. Indifferent on the instructions. The price in US dollars is a huge turnoff. Typical high City price.
I have several of the Animal Rescue sets but the price is really hard to justify unless you really like it or it's on sale.
This is how app integration should have been from start!- To show kids they can modify their sets and even encourage them to customize them!
In Poland this set is ONLY 30$ and you can even got it around 28$ from the start!
One reason why I like building Lego is the time I spend away from digital screen. So, that part is not appealing, but minifigs, animals and part are. I will buy this set. It reminds me of 60157 , that's a good thing
I like the concept to go beyond just the main model. Although with the odd spare bin of parts provided I can imagine lots of blank expressions from 6 year olds wondering how you would built a helicopter?
"Try luring the stupid thing down with a bit of fish before it s**ts on anyone else!"
Ha ha ha......comment of the year so far Huw
I feel like some comments miss the point of digital integration, it's not a way to get kids who already play with Lego to also use an app, it's a way to get kids who otherwise just want to play all day on a digital app to also play with Lego... use the phone for inspiration but then go off and build something in the real world..
But I have no 6 year old to test this theory on, so I may be wrong...
I have a son and he has limited screen time. As an adult I’d rather he played with Lego without a screen. But he loves the space missions that came with the City Space sets a while back and this seems similar in intent: I think he would find it the best thing ever. He would probably rush the building to get to the next chance to use the screen though…
This is next level LEGO poop humor :)
Is the Hidden Side of this experiment to determine if LEGO can someday cut their paper costs and make all their instructions VIDIYO based? I hope on the Life of George that such a Fusion doesn’t happen. I remember reading somewhere that LEGO is committed to paper instructions.
On the other hand, I collect old Dacta sets with hardware peripherals…and they still work with antique computers.
@PixelTheDragon said: "I wonder how these sets will fair when the apps are inevitably de-listed from various platforms because they became outdated."
Yeah, I was going to say, is this theme reliant on yet another app that won't work in a few years (or months)?
Sucks to be those of us who don't even own smart phones (and have no desire to do so).
As an aside, if your owl is pooping that much liquid, then your owl has bigger problems than sitting on some traffic lights.
@guachi said:
"Love the flip-top box. Love the animals. Indifferent on the instructions. The price in US dollars is a huge turnoff. Typical high City price.
I have several of the Animal Rescue sets but the price is really hard to justify unless you really like it or it's on sale."
Want to hear/see something hard to justify? (those are CAD$ prices but usually CAD$ are just USD$ * 1.3). Let's first go by the price. Let's pick the price of CAD$89.99. There are 5 sets in the City range at that price; they are (pieces count in parentheses): 60316(668), 60320(540), 60329(433), 60347(404), 60346(230). Last two sets are 'farm' sets - significantly more expensive than the rest.
Let's go by number of pieces: 60324(340) vs 60345(310). The first one is $50, the second $60.
Again, farm set has a huge premium(20%) from a set that is already quite expensive - and has roughly 10% less pieces.
So, it goes like this: 'Hey Lego, we want animals and farm and all that stuff'. Lego then produce the stuff - fine stuff, nothing exceptional but fine with a gi-normous markup. Not sure if they'll sell well because they are simply bad value. Then Lego says, we did what you asked but nobody bought them. Then Lego fanboys/girls will say: well, they are expensive because they are new moulds. Ahem, excuse-me, Lego produces new animal moulds left, right and center for the Friends line and we don't see those outrageous prices.
Example: Lego: apparently people want a school. Ok, let's do a $40 set, let's add a squirrel to it and then mark it up to $90. For the barn, we'll do one better, we'll do a $25 set with next to no parts and ugly tractor and ugly trailer and ugly barn and sell it also for $90 because there are cute baby animals in it.
I understand inflation and when it runs at 6-8% I am annoyed when I see price markups of 20%-30% accompanied with a pieces reduction of 10%-15%. I also know this rant won't change anything at all but somehow, I still had to do it (and somehow will also try to get those farm sets anyway - hopefully on sale).
Finally, as for this set, I will most likely also get it (because of the animals) and will most certainly never be in contact with this app. As far as the concept goes, I'll only quote: The definition of insanity is repeating the same mistakes over and over again and expecting different results - Einstein.
Owl getting a bad rep for what's clearly a pigeon infestation (but since TLG hasn't produced a proper pigeon piece yet we'll have to pretend there are invisible stealth pigeons in this set).
I agree $40 is steep. But it is a clever idea.
I wonder if one bought all three sets how many more games and how much interactivity (sets played with together as well as separately) there could be?
Possibilities seem endless.
@Huw said:
" @Aanchir, I did mean to include it in both columns: it's a pro and a con. Pro in that it provides an novel and interactive building experience, and a con because it encourages screen-time which I believe is not necessarily as good thing."
I figured Huw deliberately included it in both columns to avoid "picking a side" in a humorous way.
I can completely understand why this one of the three is the most interesting to many fans, but personally I find the other two Mission sets to be much more appealing than this one.
I've never had too much of an interest in LEGO's animals, and the two more tech-based sets like Police or Space seem cool for industrial parts and stuff.
If I were to build a city, which I do plan on doing, I would have little wildlife and instead focusing on buildings and houses.
I would want to buy the Space Mission set to try it out though.
I gat a Hidden Side set couple of yeras ago and it turned out my iphone 6 wasn't compatible. I didn't care since I liked the set, but I didn't buy and don't intent to buy anything that requires such tech in the future.
Not judging the set, just the concept.
While I do see what they are trying to do, as a parent I hate everything that makes my kids spend even more time in front of a screen than they already do.
So far, when they play or build with their sets, they are away from electronic devices, and they apparently enjoy it. They also seem more relaxed than when playing some game on one of their mobile devices.
So, this concept gets a big thumbs down from me. And that's not even factoring in the ridiculous price.
Since the base model Car instructions are provided, the app is 100% optional.
Even mario sets do have PDF instructions so no app is technically needed.
I never used the Vidiyo or Hidden Side apps, and the app for Nexo Knight was an optional game as well.
@PixelTheDragon said:
"I wonder how these sets will fair when the apps are inevitably de-listed from various platforms because they became outdated.
"
Let’s face it, the target audience for the app probably aren’t going to be interested in using the app by the time it’s obsolete- most of them will hopefully be classifying it as ‘pretty cool parts pack’ like most TFOLs/AFOLs.
What a great idea with the free play. I would love to play it with my 8 year old and I am sure he would too. What I don't like though is the including of an app. I am not going anywhere near any digital LEGO product again ever. Too many fails for me. But this idea with a printet game manual instead of an app and I would love it!
A cool little set with a fun concept, but if you're a parent with kids that are excited as all get out for these ... consider making a backup of the app package files. Just in case Lego gets antsy with their Apple/Google store pages again and starts up another culling of their apps.
Also Huw's owl joke deserves an award.
This is such a fun concept! It looks like so much fun and I’m so excited to see this implemented in other themes like friends! You can first play the game, then use it for your own build! Plus the pieces for this model is amazing. This really showcases the potential of app and lego integration
@darkstonegrey said:
"Owl getting a bad rep for what's clearly a pigeon infestation (but since TLG hasn't produced a proper pigeon piece yet we'll have to pretend there are invisible stealth pigeons in this set)."
The reason we don't see the pigeons is because they all flew away when the owl showed up!
Was excited for this at $30 stateside but at $40 I might pass or buy the new animals separate.
Well ... "Requires phone or tablet to play" is on the Ups AND ond the Downs side!?
Tough one here. As an AFOL the concept is just not for me. I would buy this but only for the parts. Specifically the animals and the minifigs. I just believe personally that Lego is a product that is unique that it does not require technology to enjoy. You get a set you open it and everything you need is right there in front of you. Time will tell but I see this going the way of Vidiyo but may last longer and sell better as it does have more parts that I think an AFOL will appreciate.