Sony Online Entertainment announced Payday: The Heist today for the PS3 and PC. Payday is a squad-based first-person shooter in which players step into the shoes of criminals looking for a "big score."

Payday will ship with six heists, including a bank robbery and an armored car hijacking. Your team of four criminals (A.I. or players) must work together to crack security, take hostages, and - of course - fend off law enforcement. If one of your crew members is captured, you can trade a hostage to get him back.

The four-player co-op will lead to a lot of Left 4 Dead comparisons. There are other similarities as well. Players can share ammo and med kits and heal each other. Your enemies have changing entry points, too, in order to make each play-through feel different.

This isn't to say the game's a copy of L4D, though. The hostage-trading feature sounds interesting. The game also features three character specialties - assault, sharpshooter or support - with distinct weapons and equipment. Trip mines, silenced pistols, machine guns are some of the items you'll get your hands on.

Payday will be released digitally later this year. Like most games being announced this week, it will be making an appearance at E3.