Review: 60355 Water Police Detective Missions
Posted by benbacardi,
It's time for the last of the three new app-based sets that LEGO released this year under the City Missions subtheme! Huw took a look at the original 60353 Wild Animal Rescue Missions, and my four-year-old son gave the space-based 60354 Mars Spacecraft Exploration Missions a thorough play test, successfully navigating the dangerous depths of outer space and landing on Mars.
This time, my six-year-old daughter was taking on the role of a Water Police Detective with 60355 Water Police Detective Missions, to solve a spate of recent crimes, discover the thief's underwater lair, and catch them red-handed.
Summary
60355 Water Police Detective Missions, 278 pieces.
£24.99 / $39.99 / €29.99 | 9.0p/14.4c/10.8c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A fun little set in a new subtheme that provides a heap of entertainment, and gives children a chance to stretch their creativity.
- Variety of instruction-led and creativity-led building
- Entertaining and funny story alongside the builds
- Keeps children engaged
- The app has its quirks
- Stop calling me "dude", Chief Wheeler!
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Get Ready, Detective!
As with the other two sets, there are eight missions in total, and they start off locked to ensure you complete them in sequence. All three sets start off by introducing you to the situation with a short animated video. In our case, there's a thief on the loose, stealing from the residents of the harbour. As a new recruit, the head of police Chief Wheeler asks us to go and investigate.
Firstly, however, we have to choose our outfit and some policing gear. There's a variety of pieces to choose from, and two complete minifigures can be built.
Picking through the pieces, my daughter put them together as shown here. The torch was part of some instruction-led building, and the dog turns up later in the missions.
There are no unique parts here, and most of them appear in many other sets (LEGO have produced an awful lot of police-related sets, so it must be getting tough to come up with new designs!). There's a choice of a female or male police officer, and a police vest or more of a fluorescent utility vest. The latter has only appeared once before, in last year's 60277 Police Patrol Boat.
The heads are only printed on one side, but in addition to the two hair pieces to choose from, there's a police hat (which is new in this colour) and a motorcycle helmet.
Well, Mission 1 was easy to complete, and is a gentle introduction to the way the rest of the missions work. In fact, all three sets follow the same pattern: build the minifigures in the first mission, and a basic vehicle in the second.
The largest section of instruction-led building is in Mission 2: Build Your Speedboat, which (perhaps unsurprisingly) leads us to build the core boat, shown at the end point of the instructions below. My six-year-old had no trouble getting to this point, despite being at the lowest end of the suggested age range. There's room inside for three minifigures—who is the third? We shall soon see!
After play-testing the boat, we are introduced to our new partner in Mission 3 - Duke DeTain, a well-known cop in LEGO City. There's no choice of parts here; he's built from black legs, a police shirt with a utility belt, and his usual dark glasses and black hair.
I hope I'm not spoiling the surprise for anybody here, but I've photographed Duke alongside the thief, who is introduced in a later mission. Her name is Betty Bass, and she's wearing a diver's outfit, complete with pressure gauges to monitor her oxygen tank levels (the tanks themselves are included in red for the first time in a modern set).
She has striking orange hair, although that's usually hidden beneath a red helmet with a diving mask, and is easily identified as the thief by the suspicious black mask across her face. Her head is unique to this set, with a smirk on the side with the mask, and a less mischievous smile on the other side.
I'm not going to go through all the missions, as it would make for a relatively repetitive review and you wouldn't have the fun of discovering them for yourself! Instead, I'll share a few photos of the adaptions to the boat my daughter made during the various "free build" sections of the app.
Large flames always make something go faster:
Clearing a path through busy streets? No problem when your boat now has wheels, a police officer with a megaphone jetpack, and a flamethrower.
Hunting an underwater thief wouldn't be possible without converting your boat into a submarine, especially one that fires water splats out the front.
The photo below shows a few of the parts available to play with during the missions. There's also a fullly-knolled render in the additional photos of the set. The contraption lying at the bottom left was an invention my daughter came up with to help detect clues left by the thief while examining a crime scene.
As mentioned in the previous reviews, the sets are designed to strike a balance between free building (which could be daunting for some children) and purely instruction-led play. To that end, a handful of models are built from instructions throughout the missions, including those shown below: a cage (for once you've caught the thief), a pedestal that used to hold some valuable items, the entrance to the underwater lair (complete with a swinging anchor mechanism to protect the stolen goods), and a small underwater scooter. They were all easy to construct, and my daughter had no problems at all at any point during the missions.
Conclusion
This set felt mechanically very similar to the Mars Missions one, but the story was quite different, and it was fascinating seeing the different approaches my daughter took compared to my son. It really highlighted where these sets excel: allowing children who enjoy building freely with a little direction to express themselves, while not alienating those who prefer to follow instructions. My son is definitely the former; my daughter, the latter. They both got a lot of entertainment from their sets, and they kept them engaged for longer than a traditional set would.
The app can be frustrating - there are times when it takes a long time to load, or the videos are sluggish on the device, or it's not obvious when to press the next arrow and move on. I also understand the frustration people have expressed with the longevity of this approach - what happens when LEGO no longer supports the app, will the instructions and missions be available elsewhere in years to come? But that said, it's great to see LEGO try something different, and not one that's designed to keep the children's eyes glued to the screen but to actively go and play with the LEGO, like we all did "back in our day".
I think the sets represent pretty good value for money, especially given the amount of time that my children spent with them. I can highly recommend them to anybody with children at least at the lower end of the suggested age range, and hopefully LEGO will expand the range with further sets at a later date!
60355 Water Police Detective Missions is available from LEGO.com for £24.99 / $39.99 / €29.99.
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31 comments on this article
Ooh flame thrower. My favorite way to stop crimes
SpongeBob vibes from the boat with wheels
@ao_ka:
Definitely cribbed 3815.
Still not sure if I like the new neon green color yet.
@ao_ka said:
"SpongeBob vibes from the boat with wheels"
Agreed, but there are only so many way to do a boat with wheels...
I love the turn of direction that TLG is taking this time with digital engagement. It's like someone in marketing finally watched The Lego Movie, which seemed to capture Lego's brand proposition better than their previous digital efforts that all but supply the Kragle. And, Ben, I appreciate how your review acknowledges the range of different types of builders that this series attempts to engage.
I like how the app is redirecting play back to the bricks and, specifically, to playing and re-engineering the bricks rather than aiming for a specific "canonical" outcome. In some ways, all the app is really doing is instigating play the same way that "challenge" books do. But that can't be all there is to it: there are surely reasons why just watching these videos on YouTube does not give you the same level of engagement as scaffolding them within an app that sequences them and provides additional help and context. And this strikes me as something that the product developers playtested over and over again with kids to get right.
That said, I'm not sure why the app would be sluggish or have any issues at all - it seems the whole point is to be as lightweight as possible, surely in comparison with the video game of Hidden Side or the even more intensive 3D modeling of Vidiyo.
The only quibble I have with the review is in the first line : I wouldn't call these "app-based sets," as that suggests that the purpose of the bricks is to support the app. From the reviews it seems the opposite is true: the app supports building. (It would be no more accurate to say a Friends set is "paper-based" because that's the medium of the instruction booklet).
I really like how this series bucks the Kragle trend that there's one perfect, canonical outcome to a build.
I like the balance of providing instructions for primary builds, but also including enough extra pieces to customize the primary builds and/or create totally new things.
Fantastic parts, 4 figures, even without an app this is a great set.
The set's Boat might not float, but this set floats my boat.
@TomKazutara said:
"Just forget the app , and simply use it as City part pack ."
To quote the infamous meme, "the future is now, old man!"
By which I mean the future is Lego failing to support the app beyond one or two phone generations, pulling it from Apple and Google, and leaving kids with a City part pack.
@Murdoch17:
I’ve seen the Amphibicar, and VW Beetles (old style) that were converted for use on water. Militaries around the world have amphibious assault vehicles. There’s also the snorkel trick, which they’ve even used with tanks. I think they also rigged a tank with a floatation device that could be jettisoned once they reached shore. And I’ve seen videos of people riding motorcycles fast enough to hydroplane on waist-deep water (in one, they stopped in the middle of the water and immediately sank, proving it’s not just 1” deep).
@PurpleDave said:
" @Murdoch17 :
I’ve seen the Amphibicar, and VW Beetles (old style) that were converted for use on water. Militaries around the world have amphibious assault vehicles. There’s also the snorkel trick, which they’ve even used with tanks. I think they also rigged a tank with a floatation device that could be jettisoned once they reached shore. And I’ve seen videos of people riding motorcycles fast enough to hydroplane on waist-deep water (in one, they stopped in the middle of the water and immediately sank, proving it’s not just 1” deep)."
On the subject of the tanks with flotation devices, that was invention used on D-Day, and it really didn't work well. (at Omaha beach, none reached shore) Snorkels and amphibious vehicles work well, though. Here is the floating tank page on Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DD_tank
...And as for the motorcycles: Why on earth would you ruin a perfectly good motorcycle engine by stopping in several foot deep water!? That bike will never run again!
@PurpleDave: Actually, a stock VW Beetle will float, albeit only briefly.
@PurpleDave said:
" I’ve seen videos of people riding motorcycles fast enough to hydroplane on waist-deep water (in one, they stopped in the middle of the water and immediately sank, proving it’s not just 1” deep)."
I had a neighbor who rode a snowmobile on a lake in the summertime just to prove it would work. I admire the bold but I’m not risking my own property to be brave. ;-)
@GBP_Chris said:
"...the future is Lego failing to support the app beyond one or two phone generations, pulling it from Apple and Google, and leaving kids with a City part pack."
I'm pretty sure this is the product plan, just without the snark.
Once the app gets kids messing around with Lego, its job is done. And the outcome would be a parts pack, in the very best sense of the concept. As maybe more Lego sets should be, rather than a rather expensive paint-by-numbers kit.
@Murdoch17:
Hey, nobody imposed a limit of “successful” on this list. Besides, from what I understand, they _did_ work. On calm water, like a duck pond. It was only the choppy surf that did them in.
As for the motorcycle, if your YouTube channel is successful enough, that one video will probably pay for a new motorcycle. I’d known it was possible with 3-wheelers because they had balloon tires that spread your weight out across much more of the water’s surface (probably at least one square foot per tire), but when I was looking up video for proof, I learned you can do it with a dirt bike with skinny tires also. Anyways:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcc9NBQqCs8
Skip to 07:02 to see about 2 minutes of a guy driving a motorcycle around on a lake, past docked powerboats, and it looks like he had to ditch because he almost rammed a pontoon boat. So maybe not intentional, but less costly than also fixing the frame and covering hospital bills.
@TheOtherMike:
This was a full mod. They’d waterproofed the body, and it was prop-driven. I’m pretty sure that’s not a factory option. Anyways, where I grew up, there was a pond leftover from construction of a freeway, and us kids in the neighborhood would just walk through the woods to get there. On the other side of the pond was a trailhead that people from outside our immediate community used to get in. One day we walked out there to go swimming, and there was a Jeep Wrangler sitting in the pond, with beer cans floating in the footwells. We figure the driver (drunk, obviously) came flying off the trail the night before and failed to notice a body of water roughly the size of a football field. Water - 1, Jeep - 0.
When I was younger, we had 10” of rain in one hour, and the other end of the road flooded deep enough that you could row a canoe across where it dipped. The guy living across the street from us had a truck just for off-roading, and all of us kids piled in the truck bed so he could drive us across the “river”. The bed was at least 4’ off the ground, and the water swelled up enough under the truck to almost reach the tailgate.
And I had a coworker learn about that phenomenon the hard way. The road to work got flooded out after a heavy rain, and I knew enough to take it at a crawl. She tried to power through and rolled a wave of water over her engine, which got some of it into the air intake. Water - 1, engine - 0.
@graymattr:
That same video has a shot of a snowmobile, but in winter, alternating between crusted ice and open water.
The app thing is horrible boring, even for kids. Not gonna hold their attention
Are you sure that dog isn’t new? It looks very orange. Available only in this set apparently
@Your_Future_President said:
"Ooh flame thrower. My favorite way to stop crimes "
Umm this might come back to haunt you when you run for election ;)
@Reventon:
The dark-orange Husky was first released in 75935, three years ago.
THIS IS second TIME LEGO DID GOOD JOB with the app.
The first one was with Lego Fusion.
I hope more of this type of sets to appear in other themes!
As much as I dislike them not including paper instructions (and I really hope they're not thinking of phasing those out, which would be horrible from an access and independence perspective), it seems like they've really found a nice way of making a set equally appealing to kids who like an on-rails, directive approach to building, and kids who are more self-directed. It's also lovely to see storytelling incorporated, though it'd be good if they could iron out the issues with loading times to make that smoother.
These sets seem to be really great parts packs too - I remember that as a kid, getting new-to-me/interesting pieces was a major factor in my decision-making when I had money for a Lego set, so I'm sure kids will be very satisfied with the variety of pieces they get.
@Reventon said:
"Are you sure that dog isn’t new? It looks very orange. Available only in this set apparently "
And one Jurassic World set. The Baryonyx one.
I eagerly await the inevitable Bricklink price drop.
Does anyone else get a headache from that new yellow? It's like knitting needles in my eyes...and describing it...is it 'neon'? 'acid'? 'electric/lighting'?...I dub it 'migraine':|
boat plug? really? Or is just that I live in the city with the famous leprechaun?
@TheOtherMike said:
" @PurpleDave: Actually, a stock VW Beetle will float, albeit only briefly."
I remember in the 1969 movie Castle Keep a VW Bettle got pushed into the moat around the castle, and somebody hopped in and drove it out of the moat.
@catwrangler:
Interview responses have indicated they’re doing digital instructions in case where paper instructions can’t adequately convey interactive processes. So far, it’s been app-based sets, Dimensions packs, I think Mindstorms sets, and maybe a few other similar themes (Boost?) that have been limited to digital instructions. Offline sets get offline instructions as usual.
@brick_r:
It seems possible to see it in a dark room with your eyes closed and facing the other direction, but I’d take it any day of the week over coral.
@TheOtherMike:
@datsunrobbie:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1787413
This isn’t the one I remember (it was white, but in a print magazine maybe in the early 90’s, so good luck finding it online), but it’s a similar deal. And if you live in Australia, you can buy it (technically, you don’t need to live there, but you’d save a fortune on shipping).
@PurpleDave: Just have them float it over.
@TheOtherMike:
I don’t think the EAC passes by Michigan…
@Reventon said:
"Are you sure that dog isn’t new? It looks very orange. Available only in this set apparently "
The dog appears in one other set: 75935
The Lego City police budget is seriously out of control. They should dedicate more budget to schools and libraries.