by Emil Favila, Reporter

Payday 2 is an FPS shooter sequel to 505 Games’ Payday. You are part of a 4 man crew set up by a man named Bain. He contracts you and your team to do various missions around the city, while providing you a city map. You can choose different jobs with varying difficulty and profitability that involve such missions as store robberies, bank heists, nightclub burglaries, transporting drugs, dealing with with gang members, stealing from politicians, stealing art, and even cooking crystal meth. Some of these missions can last a couple of days.

Payday 2 takes a very realistic approach to crime. The developers at 505 Games factor in what would happen if a pedestrian were to suspect that you were about to commit a crime and call the cops. Sometimes the money you expected to find is not there.  Pedestrians are constantly fleeing through a firefight. And though you do your best to keep things quiet, the game really takes account of what might happen when things don’t go according to plan. And they usually don’t.

The graphics are pretty good, but they are not the high point of the game. The gameplay is where it really shines.  When stealing jewelry or cash, you are often required to fill a bag you carry. You can either throw or hold on to that bag during the mission. While holding the bag, your character leans slightly right and moves slower, accounting for the weight.  You can take hostages to keep the cops from shooting at you but you aren’t allowed to hurt civilians. There is a life respawn opportunity when you get shot so many times and need to duck and recover.

The character and gun upgrades can be purchased with cash acquired from previous missions. Other items as well to help in the missions and codes to window shutters to prevent sniper attack is another cool feature in Payday 2. A feature I did not get to try was Crime.Net which is a new mission interface. It apparently unlocks new missions depending on how well the last heist was accomplished.

Overall, Payday 2 is a fun time. Mission objectives are clear and it’s easy to get better the more times you play through it and become familiar with the floor plan of the levels. The only downside is the unpredictability of the levels, which is also what makes the game great. You could be putting on your mask and a civilian, a camera, or bodyguard you haven’t accounted for may be coming around the corner. You could say Payday 2 is a double edged sword in that regard. Though I only got a chance to play it as a single player, I imagine the game would be even better with more people involved, as the missions work well in a coop environment.

I would recommend Payday 2 for anyone looking for a fun coop gaming experience with a friend or even solo. It provides just enough challenge without being over the top.

ComicsOnline.com gives Payday 2 4 out of 5 gunshots!

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