June 7, 2011 by Vinnie Leduc
While making our initial rounds on Day 1 of E3, MediaStinger stumbled upon a PC and downloadable PlayStation Network game. We had never heard of Payday: The Heist, and you probably haven’t either, but it was early, so what the hell, why not? And it turns out that this little co-op FPS was pretty enjoyable.
What immediately drew our attention was the similarity to the opening scene of The Dark Knight: you play as a group of clown-masked, assault-rifle-toting bank robbers. Which naturally brings about the question of whether you can off your fellow squadmates for a payout, Joker-style and what the Kane & Lynch games did well in their multiplayer modes. Unfortunately, we were informed that the answer to that popular question is no.
However, Payday: The Heist offers great objective-based entertainment amidst some hectic stuff hitting the fan. As Paul and I started the bank level, we were told that we could either find the bank manager discreetly before we started our heist, or we could run in with guns blazing. I jokingly uttered, “Leroy Jenkins!”, which spurred Paul to immediately mow down some civilians and security guards. Nice start, Lynch. As I tracked down the bank manager to get the vault key, I overheard our guide instructing Paul that you can press “F” to tell civies to get down on the floor, to which Paul replied, “They’re already down,” as he continued spraying hot lead.
We shot some security cameras to prevent the popos from tapping into the feed to ascertain our location, struggled through making sure the drill worked, and got into the vault all while fending off incoming SWAT teams, some of which rappelled down from above. Paul accidentally killed himself with some hot thermite that he threw on the ground too close nearby or something, and that marked the beginning of the end of our gaming session.
All in all, Payday: The Heist might be something you’d normally ignore, but could potentially be a sweet little gem, especially if it’s offered at a bargain price. Paul compared the gameplay to Left 4 Dead, and we were teased with a future level in which you rob a crackhouse’s heavily guarded safe and another level in the streets that was inspired by the crime saga Heat. You can check out more info about Payday at Overkill’s site here.
