Welcome to the underworld; a place where your actions can’t be judged on what is right or wrong, but what is necessary to survive. Robbing and killing is the premise, and anyone who happens to get in your way is fair game.
PayDay: The Heist takes you to places no other game has. Not only are you experiencing brutal crime first-hand, but you’re doing it without real consequence.
There are no lone wolves in PayDay. You either stick together and survive or play solo from the group and die. If you are not a team player, forget it — you won’t even survive on the easiest of game settings. This is not a bad thing; it just means that teamwork is necessary to complete goals. If solo gameplay is more your style, there is an option to play with three bots (which you have the ability to command).
PayDay: The Heist is a fast-paced first-person shooter that uses tactical gameplay elements, so ‘bunny’ hopping over bullets will not work here. Dying is common as well as getting arrested, so it’s important to cover your teammate’s back at all times. If a teammate ends up being arrested, it is possible to trade a hostage for the release of the arrested player.
The Graphic User Interface (GUI) is sleek and streamlined with no clutter whatsoever. The heist objectives are easily obtained by either pressing the Select button or looking for the gold arrows that lead to the current or next objective. With every heist played, you will earn money and experience whether you win or loss a mission. As you play PayDay, other abilities, gear, and weapons will unlock.
No matter how many times you play, the heists are never the same. It doesn’t matter if you are playing single player mode or online with friends; the experience will be different. The same goes for the weapons. When you hold down the L1 button, each weapon has its own recoil and rate of fire.
Aside from the weapons, there are zip ties for taking hostages, trap mines, and med and ammo bags that can be dropped so teammates can replenish their health and weapons.
There are six different heists to choose from, all with different difficulty settings. Plus, there are six challenges to complete over the course of playing PayDay, each will unlock better weapons, gear, and other useful items.
The single player experience is the same as playing online, but with bots in place of human players. When playing online, bots will take the place of missing players, so you will always have a full crew.
The graphics in PayDay: The Heist are remarkable. The character models are impressive, and the lighting and shadowing are beautifully executed. The rag doll physics are not overdone like in some games, and it looks realistic when bodies slump over or roll down a flight of stairs.
The action in PayDay: The Heist is so intense, it can be difficult to stay focused on the objective at hand. The most important rule is to stick together and work as a team.
The split-second gameplay is a refreshing take on the first-person genre. You are not even allowed to pause the game in single player mode, so you better be in it for the long-haul if you decide to play Payday.
If you fancy the giltz and glamor of the underground crime life, then PayDay was made for you. PayDay is the most thrilling co-op experience in recent memory. It feels like the developer used the most memorable moments from some of the best crime drama movies and turned them into a a game, allowing you to live out your Hollywood fantasies without real world consequences.
James ‘Daripp3r’ Pittaro
Platform: Playstation 3 (Available on PSN)
Developer: OverKill Software
Publisher: SOE (Sony Online Entertainment)
ESRB: M (Mature)
Price: $19.99
OverKill Software’s Website
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |  |
| Beautiful, dynamic shadowing. | |
| Sound | |
| The music and sounds effects are very impressive. | |
| Gameplay | |
| The best co-op first-person shooter on Playstation 3. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| The gameplay never gets old no matter how many times you play it. There is plenty of replay value. And with DLC on the horizon, PayDay: The Heist will keep gamers busy for a very long time. | |
#1
Great game love every minute
#2
Enjoyed every bit of your review.