Payday 2: Crimewave Edition review

PS4, Xbox One; 505 Games; 31.50

Cops and robbers have been such an enduring inspiration for Hollywood, it's curious that games haven't really bothered with the genre. Battlefield Hardline may have grafted policeman onto its game of war, enabling full scale urban combat, and Grand Theft Auto V does let you perform heists, but neither is as detailed or ambitious as Payday 2. You're one of a team of four criminals taking on jobs that range from quick jewellery shop knockdowns to complex operations taking place over several days, starting with casing the joint and finishing when you've fenced your ill-gotten goods.

In each mission you need to find a way into some premises, then break in using drills that work on a long timer and need to be defended against waves of incoming policemen, or download data from a computer, which takes a similarly long time and attracts the same attention from tooled-up law men. It looks a bit low-budget and aiming your gun is shaky and imprecise, making its chaotic firefights prone to anarchy, while random matchmaking with players online doesn't often make for rewarding cooperation. Payday 2 has good ideas, but lacks the polish to capitalise on them.