Payday 2 released in August 2013.  During that holiday season, which was full of console launches, the game that still had people talking was Payday 2.  The game brought synergistic co-operative criminal activity to people and gamers responded.  Now, Overkill and Starbreeze have brought the signature masks and play style to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 as Payday 2 Crimewave Edition.

I will admit this game slipped under my radar having been sucked into the new console hype. So, when given the opportunity to get into Payday 2 on the Xbox One, I jumped at the chance.  From the first guitar pluck of the opening music, Payday 2 throws you into the experience.  No tutorial, no real explanation as to how to begin other than a cryptic, long “letter” at the beginning.  So, I got my bearings and realized there is an online mode and an offline mode.  Knowing that jumping in blind to online mode would probably get people yelling at me, I opted for a few missions in offline mode to get my feet wet. Jumping into offline mode may have been the biggest mistake I could have made.

In offline mode, you have many of the same jobs (bank heists, transport holdups, knocking over a liquor store) you have in online mode, but your crew is made up of yourself and two AI buddies, who are akin to any two bumbling, brainless buffoons* cliché you would expect in any movie.  I couldn’t seem to direct them or get them to do anything.  They were only good as a distraction or for soaking up bullets from the uniformed officers blocking me from my objective.  They wouldn’t even pick up giant bags of money and take them to the escape vehicle for me.  Didn’t they want to get paid as well?  The offline mode may have helped me get the basics of the game, it was ridiculously frustrating essentially soloing these missions while Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum observed me.

The mission-to-mission frustration immediately melted away once I went online.  Now I was playing with other human beings who knew who to shoot, when to get down, when to fight, and when it was time to grab the money and bugger off.  Missions are ranked in difficulty from zero stars to four stars.  The zero star missions went from touch-and-go, will-they-won’t-they (offline) to easy as pie, slam dunks (online).  I was playing with random people as none of gaming journo friends are reviewing it, so there wasn’t much communication, but I could imagine my friends and I jumping in here for some awesome discussions on strategy, tactics and teamwork.

That’s really where Payday 2 excels.  It puts together a framework of intrinsic rewards built around cooperation with other human beings playing as a team.  You strategize how to get in, you get in, you hold off the cops or other antagonists while you commit the crime, you utilize the different skills of the characters, you all collect as much loot as you can and you make your escape – together.  The unfortunate side effect is that when you don’t have a full team of humans or no communication, the fun factor begins to bottom out.

Overall, Payday 2 Crimewave Edition is an enjoyable experience with one huge caveat: you must be willing to play online the entire time and be willing to communicate.  Otherwise, this is just not a sensible purchase for you.  The offline (solo) mode is not a sufficient or enjoyable experience, so if you are unable to go online or do not wish to partake in that experience, I would steer clear.  On the flip side, if you have friends willing to plunk down the money with you and jump onto Xbox Live or PSN, this is going to be hours of robbing banks and busting heads.

Payday 2 Crimewave Edition releases on Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4 on June 16, 2015.

Payday 2 original Release Review
https://coin-op.tv/payday-2-review

Payday 2 Crimewave Edition Gameplay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyLyPocwMTg

* – Alliteration intended.