Just like the first entry in the series, the game is mostly open-ended and non-linear, with the player given much freedom to decide where to go and what missions to do in whichever order.
The player takes on the role of a young protege under the guidance of a famous soldier called Maria. Maria's team was hired to protect the village of Modo from the Grapplers who regularly kidnap people for their cruel experiments. Unfortunately, the commander of the Grapplers, Ted Broiler, wipes out Maria and her group and the protagonist is the sole survivor. Nursed back to health by the girl named Irit, the protege embarks on the journey to destroy the Grapplers.
Tropes applicable to Metal Max 2 include:
- Abandoned Laboratory: Noguchi Chemical from Metal Max 2 (Reloaded).
- All There in the Manual: The comic that came with the limited edition of the DS remake reveals that the main character is the son of Maria's childhood friend, which is one of the reasons why she took him under her wing.
- Anti-Frustration Features: While the DS remake uses the same engine as Metal Max 3, it refines the gameplay elements from that game to make the overall experience smoother for players. Examples include:
- The original four-directional, tile-based movement has been replaced with a move free-form, eight-directional movement system.
- Hunter Magic skill is passive instead of active so hunters can fire their human weapons inside the vehicle as much as they want.
- Most skills for soldiers are usable on bikes as well as on foot so soldiers do not need to get off from their vehicles to use their skills if they are riding bikes.
- Each character can select a subclass and learn skills from other classes to augment his/her strengths further or cover his/her weaknesses. If you pick the same class for your subclass as your main, you get more usages for each active skill before having to rest at the inn.
- Camo Shield, which decreases the encounter rate while your party is in their vehicles, does not turn off when you exit them and get back in.
- Depending on a ride, multiple characters can ride it at the same time, meaning you can make use of multiple armaments of one ride each turn without having to rely on the C-unit or skills.
- Arch-Enemy: Ted Broiler. His murder of Maria's group makes him this to both the main character and the potential party member Misica as one member of Maria's group was her brother.
- Big Bad: Bias Brad, the leader of the Grapplers and one of the people responsible for creating Noah, the AI that caused the Great Annihilation.
- Brain Uploading: Bias Brad did this in order to cheat death.
- Cargo Cult: Taishar City worships the Gepart tank as their war god's body and even has a shrine dedicated to it.
- Character Class System: Applicable to the DS remake since it uses the same engine as Metal Max 3
- Chest Monster: Vile Vendor (Reloaded). A monster that disguises as a vending machine to get the drop on its prey, hiding amidst a large number of vending machines in a destroyed lot.
- Cool Bike: Much like in Metal Max 3, you now have access to Motorcycles as a potential tank, quite viable early game when facing Grapplers as the SP granted by the Motorcycle will increase survivability against attacks.
- Darker and Edgier: This game starts out with a Hopeless Boss Fight against The Dragon. It goes bad and Maria, the protagonist's Parental Substitute gets killed in action. It's definitely darker than the original Metal Max, where your parents are always alive and you can even talk with them in the home. Also, you will see more suffering and oppressed citizens throughout the game.
- Deadly Gas: Gas Weapons which are effective against organic enemies.
- Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: As always, Dr. Minche is there to revive you for free.
- The Dragon: Ted Broiler. Also doubles as The Heavy as he is the one who is spearheading the manhunts to gather slaves and guinea pigs for the Grapplers' twisted experiments.
- Difficulty Levels: Normal, Hard, Super, and God. Beating the game on one difficulty unlocks the next one.
- Expendable Clone: The Grapplers and Madam Muscles' mooks.
- Faking the Dead: Cagliostro in the DS remake after you defeat him for the first time. Failing to spot this will result in having to fight him again on foot.
- Four Is Death: There are four Grappler emperors, who act as the chief enforcers.
- Healing Factor: You stand little to no chance of defeating Bias Brad unless you turn off his Cyclotron first as it allows him to regenerate almost immediately.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: The hero has to deal with this trope in Swan City due to Garcia's spreading fake rumors that the hero killed Garcia's family. This lasts until the hero defeats Garcia in a duel.
- Hidden Disdain Reveal: Upon the defeat of Skunks, some of the Grapplers in the tower even express relief for not having to serve under him anymore and their animosity they had for him.
- Human Resources: The Grapplers regularly go on manhunts to gather slaves and guinea pigs for their cruel experiments.
- Immortality Immorality: Bias Brad who created the Grapplers in order to gather test subjects for his quest for immortality.
- Kill It with Fire: There are many flamethrowers for both tanks and humans. In particular, Ted Broiler kills people with his dual flamethrower, and he is extremely deadly as the fight in the prologue demonstrates.
- Mad Scientist: Bias Brad.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The hero unwittingly reveals the location of Dr. Eva to Cagliostro, which results in her death.
- No Cure for Evil: Averted for the actual winnable fight against Ted Broiler. He will use a healing item that completely restores the health when his HP is depleted to less than half. It gets even worse in the DS remake where he will do this twice. Also, Bias Brad regains pretty much all of his health each turn unless you find the way to turn off his Cyclotron.
- Non-Standard Game Over: You can choose to end the game early by marrying one of the Love Interests.
- Optional Boss: Per the series' tradition, the bounties are there for players to hunt for extra cash.
- Penal Colony: Death Cross.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: While you can create companions of your choice in the remake, the potential teammates in the original game (and still available in the remake) were an incompetent female soldier whom you have to revive twice before she realizes she needs help, a punky mechanic who is jailed for tinkering with one of the Grapplers' tanks, and an intelligent dog with a bazooka mount.
- Ridiculously Human Robot: Marilyn. You even see her prototypes in Devil Island.
- Red Baron: Maria the Immortal. Unfortunately, she gets killed while protecting the protagonist in the prologue.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: This sums up the main plot of the game for both the Protagonist and Miska as the Grapplers are responsible for the death of the hero's Parental Substitute as well as Miska's brother and they are out to destroy them and stop the manhunts for revenge.
- Tank Goodness: It wouldn't be Metal Max without all sorts of tanks and rides to choose from.
- Those Two Guys: The Pichi Pichi Brothers
- Transhuman Treachery: Garcia, after receiving modifications from the Grapplers, becomes a full-on villain.
- Uncanny Village: The city of Death Cross was originally called Freedom Paradise before being taken over by the Grapplers.
- Very Definitely Final Dungeon: Bias City.
