Heists figure into some of the most legendary plots in movie history, and now with Payday: The Heist, this cinematic trope becomes an interesting shooter concept. Overkill Software has done a great job with this innovative idea, which throws up to four players into robberies modeled along the lines of those depicted in flicks like Ocean’s Eleven and Heat. The PC/PlayStation 3 game is geared for multiplayer, although the artificial intelligence is good enough that you can play solo without missing out on too much of the crazed intensity offered up by robbing banks and shooting it out with the cops who invariably want to stop you from making off with any ill-gotten gains.
Payday looks, sounds, and plays much like a standard first-person shooter, although the goals are different. Here, instead of killing all comers, you and three comrades pull off a heist while dressed in suits and freak-show masks. You pick from the assault, sharpshooter, and support classes and then head into the fray with the objective of stealing valuables that will put your gang on easy street for life. Experience points are earned in each scenario, which lead to leveling up and unlocking extra equipment. Six maps are featured with locales ranging from a typical urban bank and a diamond repository to a slaughterhouse and a downtown street where a shooting spree ensues after your getaway driver leaves you behind. Everything is strongly objective focused. An ally gives you orders over a headset and pushes you from one goal to another. So you are always looking for a bank manager with a key card, wiping data from a security system, placing explosives, rigging up drills to get into bank vaults, setting up saws to cut into a panic room loaded with drug-dealer cash, and so forth.
Mechanics are well handled. While the core notion of the game is gritty and at least vaguely realistic, the combat is loose enough that you can sustain a lot of damage and go full Rambo. Assault waves of hundreds of cops swarm you on a regular basis that provide lots of targets and really ratchet up the tension, thanks to your remote boss counting down the seconds until they start rushing at you. If you get on a roll, though, you can kill dozens of officers before they turn you into John Dillinger. Still, you’re prevented from getting too kill-happy by restrictions on available ammo and the predominance of somewhat wimpy weapons like a silenced pistol and an automatic rifle. Health plays a big part in this because quick regeneration allows you to absorb a ton of punishment. A buddy can also help you to your feet when you’re knocked down. It takes a lot to kill you, but you have to know your limitations. If you get caught in the open or exposed to cross fire when cops flank you, you will likely die.
