E3 2011: Payday: The Heist Hands-On Preview

In most games you take the role of a hero or charismatic rogue. In Payday: The Heist, it's all about being the bad guy and snatching up the big bonanza. Inspired by Hollywood blockbusters such as Heat, the Sony-published shooter puts you in the role of a criminal mastermind. Backed with the rest of our crew, we headed into a PC multiplayer match joined by other humans and bots.

In the starting lobby we were able to select from among four characters and a number of roles. These included an assaulter, a supporter, and a sniper. We picked the first option and were then prompted to select from a variety of weapons and gear for the mission. These included a custom pistol, an assault rifle, and a submachine gun; we also grabbed an ammo supply bag for aiding our team with extra bullets. During this lobby selection, we were treated to a news broadcast of events that have yet to happen: the conclusion of the heist and the reports of our deeds. Time soon flashed back to 45 minutes in the past.

Within the match itself, we arrived at a bank in normal street clothes with weapons concealed. We scouted the front lobby before moving in with our comrades. Seeing how there were only a handful of guards and much more innocent victims, the order was given to brandish weapons and open fire. Using cooperative tactics and cross fire, our crew helplessly capped the unsuspecting guards. The gun blasts were enough to trigger the alarms, though. With police looming, the decision was formed to start taking hostages. Using two presses of the command key F, nearby bystanders were forced to the floor and were bound. This was a good tactic, because exchanging hostages was the only means of rescuing captured allies.

There was little time to prepare for the shoot-out as cops stormed from the doors, roof, and windows. Our gang split up into two teams. The other squad headed up the bank's steps to locate the main vault's master codes; for ourselves, we stayed below to distract the enemies and smash through the smaller barriers. A drill was placed on the vault's first barred gate and an ammo bag was tossed behind a desk for good measure. The defense team buckled down into cover and fired suppressant shoots against foes rushing through the halls. Every so often the drill would jam, and we would need to spin it back up.

Eventually our teammates collected the bank codes from the second level, but not before one of our allies was downed and captured. The remaining member of the extraction team headed down to the main level and gave up a hostage to respawn the lost player. Reunited again, we finished with the drill and broke through the vault's first defense. Next, the codes were used to get into where the real gold mine was. But this simply infuriated the coppers.

They pressed with even more numbers and quickly apprehended our allies one by one. We were the last survivor and were trapped into a corner. Blasting through two more flanking swat members, we made a mad dash out for the lobby. That's when the long arm of the law resorted to smoke bombs. Disorientated and surrounded, we were quickly ambushed by nearly six enemies at once. This was our last stand, and the heist ended in our demise.

Hopefully our next job will go just as planned when Payday: The Heist becomes downloadable for the PC and PSN later this year.