While I have played only a few FMs, this one is easily the most impressive I've played so far in terms of level and encounter design. There are lots of guards patrolling the museum, yet it very rarely feels tedious to try and slip past them unseen. The light sources and shadows, the layout, the use of floor tiles, the guard stations and patrols are all done expertly. Simply put, it's impressive to play, and that's before getting to the gorgeous visuals of the museum. The story is also intriguing and, appropriately for the theme, feels steeped in the world's history. However, it really could've used a part 3 which sadly never came.

My issues are almost exclusively related to objectives. Unless you're lucky (or attentive!) enough to find everything you need in a good order, there's quite a bit of backtracking through the whole level as you hunt for hints and keys. One of the main puzzles will also require you to go through the whole museum again.

I also found the loot goal on hard difficulty to be a bit too tight. I found 3190 of the required 3200 while exploring and completing the other objectives. And, you guessed it, I had to take another tour around the museum until I found one more piece of loot that let me finish the mission. I feel like I explored quite a bit and even pickpocketed purses off multiple guards and found all but one of the secrets. That said, there's always the possibility that I should've just explored better or I missed some obvious piece of loot.

These issues would be a critical blow to a mission with weaker design. For this one, well I feel like it's being slightly held back from greatness. As I mentioned before, it rarely feels tedious or boring to sneak around the museum, so the backtracking doesn't hurt as much as it could. And an extra nitpick, I agree with one of the previous reviews that the sewers are a bit too large and empty. They're mercifully straightforward in their design so at least you won't be getting lost in an almost empty area.

Overall, I think it's a very good mission that would be almost perfect if certain keys had one more copy and some of the hints were moved.

Thanks for the review!

Good luck and have fun exploring more fan missions! ;)