I really liked the first Payday game, so when Payday 2 became available for preorder, I jumped at it.
Having watched gameplay footage, I feel like my spending money on the Career Criminal Edition was justified.
Overkill have really improved a lot of aspects of the gameplay; for instance, the way stealth works is a lot more realistic, as you can sneak into a jewelry shop, disable cameras and alarms, crack open a safe, steal some valuable loot, then sneak back out the way you came, and none will be the wiser, and though this option does mean there will be valuables that you can't get at while remaining stealthy, the likelihood of a police assault will be significantly lessened.
The loot you aquire will now slow down your escape, so throwing it through the window for your teammates to pick up is sometimes necessary, in order to secure it.
There is an emphasis on customization, both with the masks and the weapons; when you've found your favourite weapon, you can customize it to make it better, and more personalized (mentions of both performance upgrades, and cosmetic customization, such as polished walnut grips for your very own assault rifle, to which you've already applied a red-dot sight and a classy paint-job).
Your character is much more persistant too; you will have to find a niche, rather than being a jack-of-all-trades. This also means that you'll have to put together a working, well-balanced gang with your friends, in order to pull off successful heists.
One of you will work crowd-control and persuasion; another will dish out massive amounts of damage to the law-enforcers and security guards you encounter; yet another will sneak past/disable security cameras, climb in through windows to disable any alarms, and allow the rest of the gang a safe passage in; and finally, one of you will set up automated turrets, crack safes about as easily as though they were eggs, and rig explosive traps for any unwanted company.
In Payday 2, there are also more options available when planning the heists; studying blueprints to find optimal routes and entry-points, aquiring security codes for various systems, as well as doing on-site reconnaissance before the heist, to find out what obstacles lie ahead. A lot more like, say, the Ocean's movies. This in particular is a tremendous improvement over the first game, making for a sequel of great potential, not to mention turning the game around from a shooter to a full-blood heist simulator.
As for the heists themselves, there is now a greater variety, with varying difficulties, lengths and rewards.
Start out small to finance the bigger heists, then go all out, for the ultimate Payday.
