There were certainly many surprises for me at this year’s E3, from the press conferences to the game announcements, I had a number of jaw dropping moments. But I don’t think anything surprised me more than my time with Payday 2, the upcoming sequel to the 2011 downloadable title that is published by 505 Games.
I’ll be honest, I have never played the first game so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The premise? Four criminals, Dallas, Hoxton, Wolf and Chains, descend on Washington plotting the crime spree to end all crime sprees. In the first game, you simply robbed banks, but without any real value or reward. For the sequel the dev-team wanted to add a purpose, to give real value to completing the perfect heist, so things have drastically changed and very robust RPG elements have been added, taking inspiration from games like Diablo 2 and Dark Souls. Earning cash for upgrades and rare loot drops at the end of a mission gives the player a reason to want to do well, making finishing the job truly worthwhile.
Payday 2 really gives players a chance to play the way they want to play the game, to live out that fantasy of being a bad ass bank robber. With four character classes (the mastermind, the technician, the ghost and the enforcer), and a number of upgradable skills and weapons that can be mixed and mastered, the customization possibilities are seemingly endless. Beginning as petty thieves, each character levels up as the game progresses (capping at 100) and this allows items such new weapons, mods, and masks to unlock. In regards to the masks, I think this is one of my favourite aspects of the Payday 2. There are numerous to unlock, customizable with colours and textures, and some drop only one in a million times. They are something to be considered like trophy. I questioned whether these masks could be traded between players, and was informed that this may potentially happen in the future given the developers close relationship with Valve.
While I did not have the opportunity to see it, there is something call Crimenet, which is best described as a dynamic mission generator. There are 30 available missions as opposed to six in the first game. Players pick from available jobs and more unlock as you meet more contacts. No heist plays the same way either, adding a nice replayability factor to the game. Before each round there is a planning phase in which you not only select your character, purchase weapons, etc., but truly invest in the success of your heist by purchasing things like blueprints of a bank to determine where the vault is located or have ammo dropped into heist’s location by an insider.
As I listen to the recording of my time at the 505 booth, I can’t help but laugh at how tense the action got, and how poorly I play shooters with a keyboard and mouse. The goal? To unlock the vault, steal the gold and…….well, I didn’t get much further than that. This game is one you will want to play with friends, or at least someone with a microphone, as communication and tactical planning will be essential for success. As we entered the bank I clumsily alarmed the bank customers of our presence, sending in waves upon waves of police in all shapes and forms including pistol wielding officers, shielded officers, and even snipers. I also found out that you should never, ever shoot an innocent pedestrian (it was an accident!!) unless you want to lose $10,000. After a very tense standoff (with game director David Goldfarb standing beside me saying “Oh God!, Oh God!”), the vault finally sprung open, and I was able to grab the gold and try to make my escape. Carrying the loot, it was noticeably heavy as I made a fruitless attempt to make my way to the next objective. And then it was all over. Overwhelmed by enemies, we tried our best, but failed the mission miserably.
Despite my epic failure I had absolute blast playing this game. Perhaps it’s because the gameplay reminds me so much like one of my all-time favourite games, Left 2 Dead, or because I’m a sucker for RPG’s and vast amounts of customization, but I was completely blown away by what I played. I’m anxiously plotting my next heist, and can’t wait to play with friends when the game releases in August 2013.
