Review: Mission Breakout: The Ultimate Bank Heist | Mission Escape Games (Anaheim)

Game Website | Company Website | Based In: Anaheim, CA, USA

OFFICIAL SPEC

💪 Difficulty: Not specified.

⏲️ Time duration: 60 minutes limit.

🔢 Capacity: 2 to 10 players. Private booking (at the time of publication).

💬 Hints: Via speakers, then hints will appear on a monitor screen, (if my memory serves me).

🛒 If you BOOK due to this blog, please give EscapeMattster.com a shout-out! ;)

MATTSTER'S REC

💪 Difficulty (as perceived by Mattster): 4/10 (team of 3). Puzzles were standard but well executed.

🔢 Ideal team size: Up to 4 or 5 if lacking in experience. For experts, 3 (or even maybe 2) would do well.

MUST DO!

OFFICIAL PREMISE

You’ve gotten mixed up in the wrong crowd and it’s time to pay your debt! The mob wants you to clear it by getting them what they want. You have one hour to retrieve a rare artifact stored in the bank vault before it’s too late. Do you have what it takes to pull off The Ultimate Bank Heist?

MATTSTER'S SUMMARY

Hung out with the wrong crowd and crossed the mob boss? No problem. Rob a 1950s bank in the "THE ULTIMATE BANK HEIST" and pay your troubles away. But be careful! Faced with era-appropriate gen 1 and heart-pumping gen 2 elemental security, your team of sneaky burglars will have many challenges--and tons of fun--before reaching the final prize.

MATTSTER'S ANALYSIS

First, a special note:

This game play took place before pandemic announcement in the United States (before March 2020). This review reflects previous business standards & practice at the time. Your experience may follow new health & safety guidelines where and when applicable. Please contact business venue for operating hours, booking info, and other further inquiries.

The following is adapted from a Yelp review I've previously published.

And now, read away, my lovely readers:

It's been a while since I visited Mission Escape in Anaheim. Last I checked in, I unraveled the mystery of Mr Hyde, and was pretty sure I will take on "THE DARKEST HOUR" next. Somehow, that never panned out. That's all right; I'll get potentially murdered another day.

What I did do in this year's gap, apparently, was getting mixed up in the wrong crowd, being threatened by the mob, and subsequently forced to participate in "THE ULTIMATE BANK HEIST".

Okay, not my first robbery, won't be my last. I have 60 minutes to pull this off, all right, let's get start...

Holy cow! This bank looks GORGEOUS! I seem to have ventured back in time, having stepped through the door of a much older looking bank building. Is this the 1960s? 50s? No matter, gotta keep my eyes on the prize--that rare artifact in the vault. But can you blame me for being distracted? This is a beautiful set...ting. Because surely, I'm giving praise to the impressive architecture of the bank's lobby, teller's windows, staff's back room, and not how convincing and immersive this non-escape room looks. *Grins*

Ok, back to stealing.

Hmmm... the gate's locked. The door's locked. The drawers, also locked. EVERYTHING's locked... as they should be. I need keys. I need combos. I need gen 1 puzzles solutions! Oh, why, of course, this is decades ago from the 21 century. Computers and related gadgets are not yet ubiquitous. It makes perfect sense that game designers, err, security team employed era-appropriate tools to protect their assets. Good job, team!

Mission Breakout: The Ultimate Bank Heist ▪ Mission Escape Games (Anaheim)

But wait, what's this? I need to put this item here? Flip some switches? And I need to do WHAT to break into the vault? Man, oh man, it seems like, after all, there are some still-era-plausible gen 2 elements to overcome in order to seize our elusive treasure--not to mention some inevitable visual and audio spectacles along the way! (Seriously, what?! This is insane!) Such thrills, such excitements, such... FUN? All in a burglar's day of work, I guess!

There's no denying it. My adrenaline's pumping hard, and I want MORE.

And forget about valuable prize locked behind the safe. That isn't what I seek more of. I crave more of THIS, the mission, the adventure, the EXPERIENCE of being a master criminal!

Yes, yes, seasoned bandit ain't exactly the title to boast on LinkedIn, but if all bank heists are this entertaining, I'd surely do more of it! I won't need any mobster motivation--I will volunteer as tribute!

Mission Breakout: The Ultimate Bank Heist ▪ Mission Escape Games (Anaheim)

Every puzzle, I mean, security measure I've encountered seems fairly easy to crack. Standard, easy peasy. A 4, or 5 at most, out of 10 on a difficulty scale. An expert bandit like me didn't need any clue to achieve the objective, but a beginner small-time pickpocket may want to round up some mildly experienced buddies before attempting the deed. But trust me, you got this!

And this seems like a 4 people job, max. More may just hinder efficient purloining.

I highly value my night as part-time outlaw at Mission, and I would strongly encourage everyone reading this to abandon your current career and join in for a life of, or at least an hour of, crime.

Whether you succeed as honorary hooligan, or get caught red handed by the police, be sure to return to the front desk for a commemorative adhesive, also more commonly known as a souvenir sticker. ;)

P.S. A special shout out to EscapeTheRoomers for the invite. Always a pleasant memory.

Mission Breakout: The Ultimate Bank Heist ▪ Mission Escape Games (Anaheim)

READY FOR FUN?

"Mission Breakout: The Ultimate Bank Heist" is available for booking HERE.

If you BOOK due to this blog, please give EscapeMattster.com a shout-out! ;)

Signing off,

ESCAPE MATTSTER

Instagram @EscapeMattster ▪ Facebook.com/EscapeMattster

Full disclosure: complimentary game access was generously provided for review or testing purposes. All media are sourced from and credited to rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended. In certain cases, media materials are made available under fair use doctrine of copyright law. MEGBank.