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It’s also odd that the PS4 and Xbox One versions are both locked at 30 frames per second. It just doesn’t make any sense that in an objective-based game, the AI is physically incapable of playing said objectives. Need to grab four bags of money from a vault and out into a van? Have fun running back and forth four times, since your AI teammates can’t touch ‘em. Bots still physically cannot interact with objectives of any kind, making many missions practically unplayable. Sure, Payday 2 is a multiplayer-focused game, but it provides a way to play solo with three bots – and if the option is there, it shouldn’t be a bad way to play and practice. Given how much has been fixed or fiddled with, it’s really too bad nothing has been done to address the state of AI teammates.
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Seemingly little things, such as being able to move hostages around or being able to hack into ATMs with an ECM jammer, make interactions that used to feel clunky easier to get use out of. Whether you want an easily concealed silenced pistol or a bulky bullet-hose that scares civilians into submission with its throaty report, Crimewave Edition has a gun for you.Īside from an expanded armory and skill tree, there’s also a bunch of quality-of-life and balance changes that have been made. A wealth of new weapons and mods are also included, and Payday 2’s rich weapon attribute system allows all of them to differentiate themselves effectively. The inclusion of a fifth skill tree, focused on survivability and evasiveness, makes a number of new character builds possible, including a dodge-based one that makes you extremely tough to hit. Payday 2: Crimewave Edition builds on these strengths in a number of significant ways. Once my four-man crew and I had developed our skills and arsenals to the point where we could take out security, control crowds, and get into and out of a vault in minutes, I felt as if I’d graduated from a band of clumsy thugs to a formidable crew of criminal masterminds.įor more specifics on what made the original version so great, check out our 2013 PayDay 2 review. But it’s that chaotic start that gives Payday 2 such a powerful sense of progression. Its mechanics are so deep, and its structure so foreign compared to standard shooters, it can seem overwhelming when civilians are running every which way, your thermal drill is jamming up on your target bank vault, and police sirens are getting louder and louder in your ears. It’s totally a co-op crime-sim not a cops-and-robbers-themed arena shooter, or a horde mode dressed up as a caper flick. The beauty of Payday 2 is in how completely it assumes the identity it’s chosen for itself.
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