Payday 2: Crimewave Edition for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 is, for the most part, the same great co-op heist game that came out almost two years ago on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, plus the added benefit of expanded skill trees, more gear, and the many other improvements and additions developer Overkill has piled on since launch. With them, Payday 2 has only gotten deeper and more playable, though it hasn’t gotten much better looking, and the bots that assist you when going solo are still useless.
The beauty of Payday 2 is in how completely it assumes the identity it’s chosen for itself. It’s totally a co-op crime-sim; not a cops-and-robbers-themed arena shooter, or a horde mode dressed up as a caper flick. Its mechanics are so deep, and its structure so foreign compared to standard shooters, it can seem overwhelming when civilians are running every which way, your thermal drill is jamming up on your target bank vault, and police sirens are getting louder and louder in your ears. But it’s that chaotic start that gives Payday 2 such a powerful sense of progression. Once my four-man crew and I had developed our skills and arsenals to the point where we could take out security, control crowds, and get into and out of a vault in minutes, I felt as if I’d graduated from a band of clumsy thugs to a formidable crew of criminal masterminds.
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The beauty of Payday 2 is in how completely it assumes the identity it’s chosen for itself. It’s totally a co-op crime-sim; not a cops-and-robbers-themed arena shooter, or a horde mode dressed up as a caper flick. Its mechanics are so deep, and its structure so foreign compared to standard shooters, it can seem overwhelming when civilians are running every which way, your thermal drill is jamming up on your target bank vault, and police sirens are getting louder and louder in your ears. But it’s that chaotic start that gives Payday 2 such a powerful sense of progression. Once my four-man crew and I had developed our skills and arsenals to the point where we could take out security, control crowds, and get into and out of a vault in minutes, I felt as if I’d graduated from a band of clumsy thugs to a formidable crew of criminal masterminds.
Continue reading…
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