Payday 2

You're sitting in the back of a van with a machine gun and sports bags filled with cocaine. You hear gunshots. The doors swing open to reveal an army of cops. Payday 2 may be imperfect, but it has its share of thrilling set-ups. Just like the first game, this is a first-person shooter thin on plot and thick with chaos.

You play a career criminal with a penchant for sinister clown masks. I like how the work varies, from simple jewellery store knock-offs to bank jobs involving drilling vaults, finding deposit boxes and cracking safes. But it usually amounts to shoot- ing, scrambling for cover and waiting for getaway vehicles.

It works best as a multiplayer game, not least because the AI isn't great. Its world can also feel frustratingly hemmed in with small play areas and there are some graphic bugs. For all its flaws, though, Payday 2 is often an exhilarating, anarchic and bold game. crimenet.info