Living Expenses is a pretty average medium-sized mansion heist. Your goal is to break into the mansion of a crazy nobleman named General Lanton and steal a special treasure he recently aquired. It's fairly standard stuff, but the mission is fun to play nonetheless.

In some respects the mansion is gorgeously designed. The front hall with its intricate tile floor and beautiful fountain still have that WOW factor even fifteen years later, and the top floor gallery is equally impressive. It's a nice reminder of times when TDM mappers would *make* the stuff they needed rather than using the same few prefabs over and over like everyone else. These things add charm and individuality. In other areas the house is a bit nonsensical. There's only one, narrow and winding, stairway which makes me wonder how Lanton ever got any of his furniture up to the top floor. And there's a huge brick loft area above the guard barracks with no obvious purpose or architectural merit.

Getting to the treasure is only tricky in parts. Indeed, the hardest part of the mission (especially on Expert difficulty which enforces ghosting) is the bit right after gaining entrance through the huge long vents. The well-lit library and adjoining dining room are under near-constant patrol and getting out of there is a lot harder than dodging the top floor guards. After that it becomes just a matter of opening the vault. And let me tell you, it's worth the effort. The lighting, music, and movement of the vault machinery are just beautiful.