We do this job together or not at all
Payday: The Heist is a very interesting game. It is practically a modded Left 4 Dead, sub in cops for zombies and add a few boatloads of cash plus some fine clown masks and you now have Payday: The Heist. Just as Left 4 Dead, Payday is created for a multiplayer experience, under NO circumstance should you buy this game thinking you will be playing alone. Single player, this game is 2 stars, with even one friend raises that rating substantially. I should also note there is no split screen co op which is a shame so be sure to find someone on psn to play with.
I should also note this game is $20 which is a very good price for what you are getting. There are an insane amount of unlocks and 6 heists 4 difficulties that go from effortless to impossible. The fun of it is playing through maybe on normal one or two times to level up giving you better gear and more armor etc... Then you can go back and play through on the tougher difficulty settings, still challenging but much more reasonable.
Ala Left 4 dead, there is a minor bit of "directing" from the game. Items will be in different spots as well as enemy placement and even some different paths may appear. This isnt done as gracefully as Paydays inspiration but it gets the job done and makes it feel fresh. The shooting feels......different. Its not terrible but it takes getting used too and the sound effects dont help the cause. Effects are pretty weak in the game, guns have absolutely no punch to then (except for the .44 magnum) and even with no upgrades there is little recoil. However, the music as just fantastic. From a constant drum beat to all out guitars in drums really make things feel dire and give you a sense of urgency. Graphics are good enough to say the least but nothing to write home about. Animations are stiff at times but the game runs fairly smooth.
I so far have played with just one buddy and thats enough to justify the $20 price tag. Your a.i partners actually do some work to the constant wave of police and will risk their own ass to save yours. There some interesting gameplay elements such as trading in hostages to release one of your teammates from jail (death basically) and shooting out security cameras for cops to have less information on you.
OVERALL: Payday is quite an enjoyable game. It comes with 6 very different heists and if you want it too a lot of replay value. You NEED, I say again, NEED to have at least one friend to justify the purchase of this game. If you can do that then I would recommend Payday to anyone for a good and fairly cheap game
