I’ve been stoked to play the full version of Payday: The Heist ever since I got the chance to take down the First World Bank back at E3. I was lucky enough to play with a member of Overkill Software, the development team behind the game. Sound Designer Simon Viklund walked me through the first heist, exuding enthusiasm as we struggled to meet felonious objectives while battling wave after wave of bank guards, uniformed police officers, and SWAT forces. You can read the whole preview here, where I cover the First World Bank heist in detail.
Four online co-op players (no local) will find themselves on the wrong side of the law in Payday: The Heist. This is nothing new for gamers, but few titles have such a strict focus on armed robbery scenarios. This is the game’s entire raison d'être. There’s no driving or role playing. Rob a bank, hijack a prison transport, escape a double cross, and complete multiple objectives all while working toward the getaway vehicle. The whole game feels like that one scene from Heat. Remember Heat? Oh, and make sure to have at least one human co-op partner. The friendly AI collectively craps itself when faced with anything but the easiest difficulty setting.
Payday borrows heavily from the Left 4 Dead franchise. It’s different enough to have it’s own identity, but players familiar with Valve’s zombie series will be right at home behind the garish masks of these hardened criminals. Special police units take the place of special infected, and you can see other player’s silhouettes through out the levels. The ability to see where your fellow teammates are located is essential to coordinating a defensive front against the inevitable police assault. This also lets you know exactly how crappy your teammates are, be they AI or just horrible, horrible co-op partners. While Payday lacks L4D’s graphical polish and presentation, there’s much more to the game than simply dodging special infected and running between safe houses.
...and ANOTHER thing about why SWAT sucks... They're right behind me, aren't they?
Most of the heist scenarios will take place in one location or building. After beginning a heist (or if you get caught sneaking around), players will have to quickly take control of the situation. This usually involves neutralizing all of the armed security and taking a few hostages. There are penalties for killing civilians, so don’t go all Mr. Blonde on the crowd. You can order NPC’s to the ground and then zip-tie them in place. These are your bargaining chips should one of your crew get captured. And they will get captured. Some un-mic’d numbskull is always trying to take on two taser cops solo. Bad idea.
After an area is secured, your team will get to drilling, sawing, burning, or hacking their way toward the ultimate $$ goal $$. Whatever the process is, it takes several minutes, allowing multiple waves of police forces to assault your position. You’ll have to hold the area while increasingly powerful and pissed off officers attack you with sniper rifles, smoke bombs, tasers, and riot gear.
Between these onslaughts your teammates can drop support items such as ammo and health bags or even lay trip mines. You can revive each other if one player goes down. If you don't get to them in time, you'll have to trade a hostage to free your partner at the end of the assault wave. It is essential to have a balanced loadout before a heist. You don't want to be the team with no ammo bags, trust me. In the middle of these fire fights your breaching tool will inevitably fail. Someone will have to reset it while the rest of the team covers them. If you’re playing solo, that someone is you, as the friendly AI will simply point and laugh.
Once you’ve breached the first level of security, you’ll typically move on to the next area, and begin the process again. It’s repetitive, but fun. Breaking into vaults or forcibly removing panic rooms from buildings via helicopter (you read that right!) just feels good. The game hit the right mix of intensity and anxiety for me as I yelled “Come on, come on, come on!” at whatever was sapping the seconds between me, my loot, and the next police assault.
I don't think he's sleeping...
Payday: The Heist surpasses Left 4 Dead in one key area: character progression. Money acts as XP, and as you level up you can choose which upgrades you want to work on. You'll earn money for completing objectives, so team play is the focus, rather than trying to rack up a high body count. During the course of the game you can change your upgrade path at any time. You’ll earn things like extra ammo bags, better armor, and new weapons. Specific challenges, such as defeating a heavily armored Bulldozer trooper with a shotgun, offer big cash rewards. This carrot on a stick will keep players coming back for more, because who doesn’t want a bigger gun?
As much fun as I’ve had with Payday, I can’t ignore some serious flaws. This game is a graphical abomination for a PS3 title. I know it’s a downloadable game, but... DAMN. The PC version doesn’t fair much better, while the graphics are clean, they simply look dated. The lobby system works on consoles, but leaves something to be desired. Starting your own game is fine, but finding other games can be a chore. The PC version’s interface makes it a bit easier to get the right game started with the settings you need.
Since the game doesn’t offer drop-in/drop out co-op, you could find yourself on an AI team if things go badly, and they often do. When players are captured they leave the game rather than wait for a teammate to release a hostage. Objectives can be unclear at times, but they all come down to finding a glowing interactive point, holding R2 for a few seconds, and defending that position. It’s not incredibly diverse, but it is a lot of fun if you’re on a good team. And you most likely won’t be when playing with AI or randoms. Use your mics, people!
Calling out strong enemies highlights them to your crew. -As if they couldn't see how bad-ass these guys are.
Payday: The Heist finds itself in a price point limbo. The game is a $20 dollar downloadable title, so many folks will be turned off by the cost. If you’re not going to be playing with at least one friend, it’s just not worth it. On the other hand, if you have three gung-ho partners in crime, your co-op crew will get a lot of enjoyment out of this title. I think Payday would have been an excellent value at $15 bucks - which if you have three friends on the PC - you can get for that price ($60 total) thanks to a Steam 4 Pack!
After over a week with Payday, I've come to realize a few things. First of all, every developer could benefit from having someone like Simon Viklund demo their game for them. He brought a lot of energy to the title. Secondly, Payday should have supported local co-op. Playing the game with someone right next to you is the way to go. That being said, Payday: The Heist is a very good game with some nagging flaws, and it is best played with friends, or not at all.
This review is based on the PSN and PC version of the game.