After the successful post of the first game review covering Dota 2, there’s no time to stop. The next game review will be of…
PAYDAY 2 is a cooperative
FPS game released on the 13th of August this year. It was developed
by Overkill Studios and is a sequel to the first, known as PAYDAY: The Heist.
It has improved on its
predecessor by having better visual graphics, gameplay mechanics, and gunplay
than the first, and also gives players new abilities that also help to improve
the gameplay experience. All of this, along with a diverse amount of weapons,
equipment and masks makes this a truly solid game.
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| Gameplay picture |
Four players, comprised of
either friends or random players in a lobby, are tasked to perform audacious bank
heists and robberies, and when this is successfully done, the players receive
their “payday”, namely, the loot stolen from finishing any of the 12 heists
that are currently available in the game, and a huge chunk of the loot is sent
to an offshore account (for that retirement party woohoo!), and the remaining
is given to the player for him/her to spend on new weapons or masks.
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| A successful heist! |
In the first PAYDAY, there
was a need for teamwork among the four players in order for them to pull each
heist off. In PAYDAY 2, this is no different, and in fact is emphasized even
more than the first, and it is in this teamwork element mixed with the gameplay
elements that make this game unique from the other first-person shooters.
A level-up system is
utilized in this game. Players gain experience from successfully pulling of
heists, and depending on the scale and difficulty of the heist, they may be
rewarded substantially more. When enough experience is gained, players level
up, and are rewarded with skill points (elaboration below) and on certain
levels, unlock new weapons.
Skills are also present
within the game, and they are divided into four classes known as Mastermind,
Enforcer, Technician and Ghost. These classes have six tiers each. Each skill
has a “basic” effect (having a small/moderate impact) from spending 1 point (or
3 in higher tiers), and an “ace” effect (having a high/substantial impact) from
spending 3 points (or 6 in higher tiers). As the level cap currently is 100,
players are given only 120 points and it is up to them to use these points
wisely, and is for them to choose what they wish to specialize in.
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| The four different classes. |
The different classes (and
thus, skills) mean there is usually some uniqueness to every player’s
character, one guy might be the demolitions expert (Technician class), blowing
up doors and safes but lacking in other areas such as lockpicking and evasion
(Ghost class). Another guy could’ve mastered everything within the Mastermind
class (pun intended), gaining unique abilities such as reviving downed
teammates just by shouting, but lack the tankiness that the skills in the
Enforcer class provides.
And that about raps up the
introduction of this review (unlike the last time), now it is time to delve
into what makes this game good (or bad)!
The
absolutely deal-making points
Gameplay
There’s
honestly nothing quite like it. Infiltrating a bank, stealing the loot and with
the law constantly firing lead from the barrels of their weapons while you try
to make your way to the escape vehicle can truly give the player the adrenaline
of actually performing the heist themselves (but without ACTUALLY ACTUALLY
doing it).
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| One of the characters, Dallas, in a bank robbery escape. |
In
summary, the gameplay is intense and this is achieved through the improved
gunplay, introduction of many new police enemies, and a more diverse weapon
pool. When odds are stacked against players in harder difficulties, the only
way they can get out successfully is only through their level of teamwork.
Would you want to grab that extra bag of gold for that extra amount in your
payday and forsake your three buddies? Or would you leave it and rather have
everyone make it?
And it is these decisions
that result in a gameplay experience that is unique from other games.
A bang for your buck
With the
current price tag of 29.99USD on Steam, it may seem like a lot for just a game
offering a bank and robbery simulation, however this game offers way more than
just that.
27 guns,
12 heists, over 50 different masks, 144 different skills and 100 levels to
(possibly) achieve, a player can do so much more than just rob a bank or perform
a robbery, but instead they can create their own unique character from things
like creating his/her own unique mask, or learning different skills, and for
29.99USD, this game is definitely worth the money spent for the entertainment
it provides.
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| YOU CAN NEVER HAVE JUST ONE WEAPON |
Optional Stealth
Most
heists have the option for complete stealth, but that is only when all players
are inclined to do so.
Before
most heists begin, the players will be in “casing mode”, having civilian
clothing and a bare face and thus are able to scout out certain places before
donning their masks and beginning their heist. When the players do wear their
masks and walk near a law enforcement or civilian, it fills up a suspicion bar,
and this goes up or down depending on whether the player is: in the line of
sight of the law enforcement/civilian (goes up), or by doing suspicious actions
(raises it sharply).
Certain heists are a
thousand times easier if players manage to stealth through it while others take
a much longer time but with the exception of any law enforcement officers on
the scene, meaning the players can take their own sweet time completing the
heist.
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| Optional stealth where enemies are unaware of the player's presence |
This
addition of optional stealth means it opens up many different possible gameplay
options for the players and this means that there will be more varying
gameplay, which depends on the players’ actions and this leads to a better
gameplay experience as a whole since there are many play styles that are able
to suit many different players.
The
absolutely deal-breaking point
Repetitive
Of course,
12 heists would mean the player should have a fun time learning the ropes and
being introduced to the mechanics of the game by robbing stores and stealing
paintings, however over the course of the player’s game time, there will be one
point in time where the player will feel that the heists get a little bit…
repetitive.
The
reason why I say “a little bit”, is because the repetitive factor is slightly
reduced by the way the heists were made, and it was that every heist is made to
be dynamic, meaning certain things that happen during one playthrough of a
specific heist, may not happen in another playthrough of the same heist, and
instead something different happens. This helps cut down the repetitiveness
factor by a little.
But once
you look over this dynamic factor, the heists are basically still the very same
thing and most of the main objectives never change despite many playthroughs of
any one heist, and as time drags on and the player continually plays the same
12 heists over and over again, he/she will start to feel the repetitiveness
that is present within this game.
OVERALL
ITS
TRIBAL COUNCIL TIME!!
Gameplay:
A+, diverse weapon pool, many heists, many gameplay options and besides, who
doesn’t like stealing huge chunks of cash?
Graphics:
B, slightly clunky but is refined and polished.
Depth:
B+, a variety of weapons, attachments, equipment, mask customisation, dynamic
heists. Caters to many different playstyles but is limited to the specific
heist.
Animation:
B, weapon reloads were well-made, but lacking in character animation.
Replayability:
C+, it is very replayable at the start where players revisit the heists they
did when they just started out, but this replayability quickly peaks off as the
player plays more.
Learnability:
A, easy game to pick up and learn how to play.
Overall:
B+, a game that is slightly lacking in terms of replayability value but
otherwise is a solid game and is worth the money.
Summary
PAYDAY 2
is a good and solid game that deserves the well-received reviews and the Golden
Joystick 2013 Award for best multiplayer and is a game that will definitely
grab your attention for a good amount of time.
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| Cover art cos its too epic |
In my opinion, this game is
best played with a group of friends and over Skype, and good times will
definitely be had whilst playing this game.
The PAYDAY community (in my
opinion once again) is a very friendly community, which is something quite
uncommon in many of today’s games, I was honestly shocked the first time (after
many hours of Dota) that many of the people I’ve encountered were friendly and
willing to give useful pieces of advice. It was definitely a good change of
attitude that was very pleasant to me as a gamer.
Thank you for the time you
have taken to read the second installment of this series of game reviews! I hope,
once again, to hear your opinion of this review and comment below whether or
not I should make any improvements in the next review (or even a commendation
if you enjoyed reading it!). Have a nice day and see you in next week’s game
review! :)
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