Payday 2

I was lucky enough to get into E3 a few years back and one of the games that just seemed to come out of nowhere, but impressed the pants off me, was PAYDAY: The Heist. It wasn't the guys in suit jackets and masks by the demo consoles; It wasn't the...

That’s the irony here. The fantasy that Payday 2 sells is that it will enable you to become part of a slick, coordinated outfit of professional thieves, capable of slipping in and out of malls unnoticed and effortlessly outfighting heavy-duty SWAT teams. And it will. You just need to become that experienced criminal first.

A somewhat flawed co-op romp that somehow still manages to...

The systems and mechanics all have small flaws and limitations, but they come together to set the stage for exciting heists that you'll want to pull again and again. As long as you can find some felons to fight alongside, Payday 2 is an addictive and challenging criminal pursuit.

Developer: Overkill Software (a Starbreeze Studio) Publisher: 505 Games Release Date: Aug. 13, 2013 Platform: Xbox 360, PS3 & PC Genre: First-person shooter, Action MSRP: $29.99Overkill's sequel to the original Payday follows the avenue paved by its...

Like all great bank jobs, Payday 2 requires planning, patience, nerves of steel and above all else, a crew of professionals who you'd trust to have your back.

Payday 2 is everything a sequel to a mediocre game should be. While there is still room for the franchise to grow, this is both an entertaining and affordable cooperative shooter. As long as potential buyers know that this is a game best played with friends, they should have a great time. Just make sure they won’t go running ahead setting off any of the security cameras. Jerks.

There's something mercurial at the heart of this series that glitches and bugs can't erase. It's still a long way from being the slick, sophisticated crime thriller it wants to be but, with a little forgiveness from the player, this rough diamond manages to shine.