I love the Mumbai level, and here is why
So I know not everybody feels this way. But I have garnered somewhat how the community feels about the different levels, and one level that often comes up as one of the less popular ones is Mumbai.
I really feel like this is undesereved. I may even go as far to say that Mumbai is one of the best maps/missions in the trilogy. Few maps offer more ways to approach, ways to interact and things to discover than Mumbai.
I could make a whole story about different things that I think the map is great for, but I will just try limit it to a few points where I feel the map really shines in:
- The map has an atmosphere that is so thick it is almost suffocating. It is full of life, full of different shops and buildings, and it really makes you feel like you are somewhere in the middle of Mumbai. The trainyard especially really stands out. An overgrown old Victorian era trainyard, that functions as a base of operations for a crimelord. Tell me of a cooler looking crimelord base, I challenge you.
- The fact that one of your targets is unknown I find really cool. I really feel they should have tried playing with this mechanic more often (I mean, they did in Freelance, but it is different there). You may think that after assasinating the Maelstrom once, you would remember his face for other missions, but oh no.. The Maelstrom's apearance is randomized every time, making it so that this target is truly unknown to you every time you start the mission. Tbf, I do feel like they could have given us at east one other way of finding his identity.
- I really loved the assassination plotline. It all revolves around your fellow assassin the Kashmerian having a contract on both Shah and Rangan. The story going on in this plotline is intruiging in of itself, but where it really shines is the dozen ways that you are able to interact in this plotline. You can take the role of the Kashmerian yourself and do his job for him, you can just assassinate one of the targets, and then call the other, you can help the Kashmerian assassinate both and get a meeting with the Maelstrom that way (and even here you have the choice of taking the roles of the paineter and foreman, or find the items they need to fullfil those roles themselves). That is a huge amount of depth for just a single Mission Story.
- Despite having played this map countless times, I keep finding new things and suprises. Which I find is pretty cool. To this day I still don't feel fully confident in finding my way around in the Slums. You can very much tell the Slums were designed to make you lose your way. Just in this last week playing I discovered a ladder I did not know was there, a Crow hideout I did not know was there, a different way of getting into the main Crow hideout I did not know was there, a different way of sneaking on top of the Hills I did not know was there... How is it that I know every map inside out, but Mumbai keeps on suprising me, even after so many times playing it?
In short, I really feel this map has a lot to love about it. Tbf, i understand somewhat where the feeling comes from; the first time playing this map is horrible. The map is messy, really hard to find your way around, and the Crows in the Slums always acting as enforcers regardless of outfit also does not help. But I think it is a map that probably offers more depth than almost any other map in the trilogy. Once you have at least some grip on some markers, I say it's easily one of the best maps for replayabilty, as it will keep giving you new suprises every time you enter.