Payday 2 is a great change in pace from other typical FPS games, meaning that you can dictate the pace and the execution of how you play for each heist. You can go the run 'n' gun route, or you can sneak your way around patrols, stealth-fully taking out certain guards to help make your path a bit easier, hack a few electronic devices to open secured doors, and much more to finish your heist and get paid!

Since you can choose how to take on a heist, the gameplay can be different every time you play. You can decided to go loud and run in guns blazing, or you can to be "sneaky-beaky-like" and go around unnoticed; but there's always something else to do within these two styles of gameplay. You may find a vent you never noticed before that makes your route a bit easier, you might figure out how to do agile leaps that help you go undetected around corners, or you might want to try a out a new skill and find a new way to massacre the oncoming police raid. There's always something new for the novice and experienced heister.

The heists take place is numerous locations and differ between each one. So, there is always something for you to do; not to mention the current on-going story-line for those that are into discovering new bits of rich and mysterious lore. You could be robbing a bank one minute, stealing revenue from a GenSec (the opposing security organisation), to DJing a crowd at a big concert as a distraction while you loudly blow open a huge underground vault! There is quite a lot of variety as to what type of heists you can go on. So, there is a bit of something for everyone.

This game introduces skill trees and perk decks to help you and your crew with any heist any way you see fit. There are 5 categories of skill trees, and each one of those has a sub-skill tree with 6 skills to master; not including the 15 perk decks to choose from as well! You can do the same heist in many different ways, changing up your gameplay style if you decide to, or to help your crew with what they might need.

With the wide selection of skills also comes tons of character and weapon customisation. There are over 100 masks to be earned and customised with different colours, patterns, and more. Most are earned through completing achievements, while some can be unlocked after completing a heist, and others can be purchased with in-game currency. The weapons are just as customisation with tons of mods to help make your weapon appropriate for the according heist.

Pros:
+ Great variety of character, weapon, and skill customisation
+ Tons of cool heists to play
+ Choose your own pace and playstyle
+ Continued updates and new content
+ 1,000+ achievements to acquire
+ Community-made mods that help keep the game fresh for everyone

Cons:
- Cheaters are not banned, only marked
- Game engine is outdated and poorly optimised
- NPCs have awful pathing to their intended target

Rating: ★★★★✰

Payday 2 is a great change in pace from other typical FPS games, meaning that you can dictate the pace and the execution of how you play for each heist. You can go the run 'n' gun route, or you can sneak your way around patrols, stealth-fully taking out certain guards to help make your path a bit easier, hack a few electronic devices to open secured doors, and much more to finish your heist and get paid! [h2]Gameplay[/h2] Since you can choose how to take on a heist, the gameplay can be different every time you play. You can decided to go loud and run in guns blazing, or you can to be "sneaky-beaky-like" and go around unnoticed; but there's always something else to do within these two styles of gameplay. You may find a vent you never noticed before that makes your route a bit easier, you might figure out how to do agile leaps that help you go undetected around corners, or you might want to try a out a new skill and find a new way to massacre the oncoming police raid. There's always something new for the novice and experienced heister. The heists take place is numerous locations and differ between each one. So, there is always something for you to do; not to mention the current on-going story-line for those that are into discovering new bits of rich and mysterious lore. You could be robbing a bank one minute, stealing revenue from a GenSec [i](the opposing security organisation)[/i], to DJing a crowd at a big concert as a distraction while you loudly blow open a huge underground vault! There is quite a lot of variety as to what type of heists you can go on. So, there is a bit of something for everyone. [h2]Skills & Perks[/h2] This game introduces skill trees and perk decks to help you and your crew with any heist any way you see fit. There are 5 categories of skill trees, and each one of those has a sub-skill tree with 6 skills to master; not including the 15 perk decks to choose from as well! You can do the same heist in many different ways, changing up your gameplay style if you decide to, or to help your crew with what they might need. [h2]Customisation[/h2] With the wide selection of skills also comes tons of character and weapon customisation. There are over 100 masks to be earned and customised with different colours, patterns, and more. Most are earned through completing achievements, while some can be unlocked after completing a heist, and others can be purchased with in-game currency. The weapons are just as customisation with tons of mods to help make your weapon appropriate for the according heist. [h2]TL;DR[/h2] [b]Pros:[/b] [i]+ Great variety of character, weapon, and skill customisation + Tons of cool heists to play + Choose your own pace and playstyle + Continued updates and new content + 1,000+ achievements to acquire + Community-made mods that help keep the game fresh for everyone[/i] [b]Cons:[/b] [i]- Cheaters are not banned, only marked - Game engine is outdated and poorly optimised - NPCs have awful pathing to their intended target[/i] [b][i]Rating:[/i][/b] ★★★★✰