A very strange mission, but strange in a good way.
Final Score: 5 Hammers
Garrett needs to stay low for a while and to do that he needs some cash. He already has a target in mind: a mansion owned by Mr Chuz. Sounds simple, eh? Well, things are not always what they seem. As Garrett will soon find out, Mr Chuz is quite an unusual man.
The mission description gives little background to go on: the mission is set before the events in Thief 1 and Garrett needs some cash in order to stay low for a while. The objectives screen gives few hints about the mission itself: the target is a mansion owned by Mr Chuz and in addition to regular looting you need to obtain some notes of his as well as a tome called the Book of Magic. Not exactly what I'd call the usual set of goals for a usual mansion heist, with no explanation given as to why Garrett should find those extra items.
Your first view as the mission starts up is a brick wall seen very close, which continues the baffling impression; but turning around, you get a nice view of the facade of the mansion. The bottom half of it boasts a few unusual but pleasant architectural details; the second floor of the mansion looks unfinished however, creating a strange contrast between the two parts. This type of conflicting design continues throughout the mission: some rooms have interesting details, while others are nothing more than boring cubes with only a single texture.
Once inside the mansion, three things caught my attention. First of all, the use of lighting is effective. Light sources are used well to create an interesting contrast between bright areas and shadows. A small complaint is that no torches seem to have a light radius set, so that their effect on the light-gem continues well beyond the range of their visible light: meaning that if you want to create a convenient shadowy area, you must extinguish all torches in sight.
Secondly, while sneaking further into the mansion, I noticed the effectiveness of the guards' patrols. It seemed that every time I thought I had cleared a corridor, yet another guard was just around the corner. The patrols are not that complex but they overlap, making them hard to predict and adding that extra bit of tension.
Thirdly, the mission contains numerous details linking texts and story to the level itself. For example, a text mentions a card game that occurred earlier in the evening; soon after that I found cards on a table. The person who wrote the text also declares that he will get drunk tonight; what do you know; a little later I stumbled upon a very drunk guard. I do love little details like that.
The mansion's layout can be confusing and there is no map. The keys that can be found have no names to indicate what they are for, which can result in a lot of running back and forth, trying to remember the locations of those unpickable locked doors that are found before the keys. The keys are few though, and the mansion is not that large, so this isn't as frustrating as it may sound.
The story is revealed piece by piece as more of the mansion is explored. To begin with, the mansion seems like a normal building, perhaps with a more peculiar choice of textures here and there. However, not too far into the mission you find the first worrying hint, then another, and soon it becomes clear that something is amiss; a nice way of building tension, I must say. Near the end you leave the mansion for a while, and this is when things get really absurd. At this point many players might find some of the oddities too much to stay immersed in the level. I know I did the first time I played the mission, although the second time I already knew the story and could appreciate most of them as part of the plot.
A major weakness of Mr Chuz is the lack of background. Why did Garrett choose this mansion? How did he find out about the Book of Magic? What will he do with Chuz's notes? Some of the areas found in the level would also benefit from an explanation. Still, the mission itself is fun to play and has a delightfully creepy atmosphere - not to mention being a pleasant change from the usual mansion heist.
The original mission had a problem with a couple of objectives that didn't tick off when they should have. This problem has been fixed in version 2.0 according to the readme, but for some reason a warning is still given on the objective screen. The objectives ticked off when they were supposed to every time I played the updated mission.
The mission contains several types of terrain ― some of them realistic, others completely out there ― though most areas feel like they belong, considering the story. The outside areas are cubic with no indication that there is anything beyond the mansion's outer walls. The mansion's interior architecture ranges from imaginative and detailed to extremely simple, giving the mission an unfinished feel. Most plain areas make sense judged by their purpose, such as the servants' quarters being less decorated than the guest rooms. In this case however, "less decorated" means "single-textured cubes". In general, the use of textures seems sloppy.
One problem I noticed is that many brushes are not aligned properly; leaving a thin edge that usually has the wrong texture, sometimes even the default "jorge". I encountered another construction problem with some of the stairs: the steps are too high, which means the AI can get stuck on them.
Playing the mission gave me an uneasy feeling, something I consider a very good thing in a Thief mission. One reason for this is the well-considered use of eerie ambient sounds, though a minor niggle is that some of them change very abruptly.
I like the way the story behind the mansion's owner is told: several ominous hints can be found before the whole truth is revealed. However, some of the letters and notes in the mission are the kind that nobody would write in Real Life and detract from the overall experience. The quality of the writing itself leaves much to be desired.
The mission's different areas may feel too diverse for players to stay immersed in the game; but then again, not knowing what awaits you behind the next door provides a certain kind of tension as well.
As I mentioned earlier, the player knows next to nothing at the start of the mission. The only reason given for Garrett's presence is that he needs money and has apparently randomly chosen a fancy building to rob. Fair enough, but this doesn't explain how he knows about the extra items he has to pick up. More information about the mysterious Mr Chuz is found as the mission progresses, and many of the oddities found in the level are thus clarified. I like the storyline, as it is something other than the typical power-hungry Lord Whoever, but it is a bit underdeveloped.
The gameplay is fun although not especially challenging, and more experienced players may find it too easy for their tastes. Patrol routes are well-placed for the most part. The mission involves many varied ways of traversing the level: there is jumping, mantling, crawling, climbing, rope-arrowing and even some swimming. In many locations the player can choose whether to take out AIs or use stealth to get by, but other parts of the mission are not ghoster-friendly at all.
Final Score: 5 Hammers
