S&S Review: PayDay 2

Title: PayDay 2
Format: PS3(reviewed), PC, Xbox 360
Release Date: August 13, 2013
Publisher: 505 Games
Developer: Overkill
Price: $39.99
ESRB Rating: M

The sequel to one of my favorite first person shooters, PayDay, has finally come out and it's everything I'd hoped for.  More heists, more guns, and more ways to pull off the perfect robbery.

Story and Presentation: 
There is no apparent story in PayDay 2, other than a few other minor snippets of backstories in order to give a backdrop for the heist you're pulling off.  Different characters have different heists, but there aren't fleshed out in anyway, but that's expected.  The graphics in the game are a step up from the first PayDay, but you'll still get a mixed bag visuals.  The four main character models are finely detailed, but the many shallow NPC's in the game will repeat.  Just like the NPC's, the environments don't have that much variety in them either.  This may appear to be lazy if you've played through every heist, but the game does a great job mixing up the layout to the buildings you're holding up.  The voice acting in the game is fine, with the return of Bain calling the shots, things will feel very familiar.  With the addition of new heist givers, he won't be the only one coordinating and rewarding you however.  The sound design during a heist is really well done, cops now react to what's going on.  Often shouting out hilarious lines while they're allies are getting slaughtered by four well trained partners.  The music is great as well, with the some composer returning, the soundtrack during an intense robbery can get the blood flowing.
Core Gameplay and Multiplayer:Besides the presentational missteps, the gameplay is where the PayDay games shine.  PayDay 2 has everything I wanted in a sequel, more heists, more guns, and tons of more masks to collect.  The first game had four big heists, and P2 has 9 heists.  The developers went the extra mile into creating heists that are multi-layered, and can take multiple mini-missions to complete.  You want just be robbing one or escaping one place, some heists can be quite extensive.  The missions can vary as well, from pulling off simple bank heists, to even cooking meth to further line your pockets with green.  These various missions are a blast to play, but only if you're playing with friends.  You can play the  heists single-player if you wish, but don't put yourself through that pain.  The A.I. is completely helpless, and they won't asset you in anyway other than killing a few of the cops that get to close.  That's fine, but when you need to carry bags, lock pick doors or safes, you're purely on your own.  The game is a completely different story with friends, coordinating and pulling the perfect robbery has never been more satisfying.  As you complete heists and missions, you gain XP and spending money.  You can use that to level up your character in any of the four classes, and spend money to buy weapons and upgrades.  After every completed heists, you will earn a random reward by choosing from three cards.  Each card nets you a special item, including masks, colors, materials, or weapon mods.
Final Thoughts: PayDay 2 doesn't strive to be the best looking or the biggest FPS out there, but what it does achieve is a great shooter for four friends.  The co-op is just as superb as ever, and with more valuables to steal, this is must play for me.
S&S Rating: 8/10 @whatsPlay