If you're looking for fun and quick, stealthy thieving, this mission's for you.
Final Score: 7.5 Hammers
Garrett is low on cash and has decided to break into a rich guy's house and steal everything of value. I don't think I'll spoil it for anyone if I say that there's also a zombie involved.
The first impression is rather lovely, with a nice view of the façade of the building, snow slowly falling down. Finding the way inside is easy and you soon find yourself looting a stylish little townhouse.
The guards are few, but they're strategically placed to make sneaking past them as tricky as possible. Expert difficulty will definitely challenge your stealth skills. You might get frustrated if you're as bad at ghosting as I am, but if that happens, there's always that zombie you can lure over to take care of the guards. I found it most relaxing.
It's hard to find faults with this mission. The sound propagation is a bit iffy in places, but that's about all I can think of. It may be small and quick to complete, but what's there is very good. It's a mission I was happy to play more than once and will probably play again later. If you want a quick, stylish and fun diversion for 15 minutes or so, this is a mission I highly recommend.
The architecture is detailed, enjoyable to look at and the amount of eyecandy is always appropriate for the rooms in question. I couldn't find a single misaligned texture, nor any poorly placed pieces of furniture. After knocking out the guards on Hard, I spent several extra minutes just wandering around and looking at the surroundings. Lovely!
Nothing obvious is missing from atmosphere, but there's nothing especially intriguing either. More ambient sounds could have been used to set the mood of the place. There's several good giggles to be had while playing, which ups the score a bit.
The background story is a familiar one, but it's plenty good enough for a small, light-hearted mission like this. There's a little information to be found on the inhabitants of the house, explaining the mysterious zombie, which gives a bit more life to the setting. It even contains such a rare thing as a funny diary.
Gameplay is basic, straightforward sneaking and thieving. On Normal you can pretty much play as you please, but no kills are allowed on Hard and there's a big emphasis on stealth on Expert, with a limit on knockouts as well. All the challenges come from sneaking past guards.
Final Score: 7.5 Hammers
