Payback 2 (also known with the subtitle The Battle Sandbox) is a Wide-Open Sandbox video game developed by British developer Apex Designs Entertainment Ltd., and released on October 4, 2012 for the iOS and on October 10, 2014 on Android devices. It is a follow-up to the 2001 game Payback (also a clone of the original GTA).
It is similar in gameplay to the Grand Theft Auto series, where the player can freely explore cities, commit crimes and drive vehicles. The game's plot is explained in the "Story" mode, where the player completes missions given to an off-screen boss, and the "Campaign" mode, where the player competes with AI characters on various game modes.
Not to be confused with PAYDAY 2 or Need for Speed Payback.
This game provides examples of:
- 100% Completion: To achieve a "Gold" rating on "Story" mode, player must get a golden trophy on each chapter, which have given requirements to get, mostly on beating the game on a quick time.
- 555: The phone number seen on taxis reads "555–242424"
- Achievement Mockery:
- The achievement "Life's Not Fair", which could be achieved by stealing a car and hitting its original driver, dubbed an "Irony Bonus".
- Tumbling a snowman gives you "Snowman Slayer".
- Artistic License – Cars:
- When lights are turned on in a vehicle, the taillights flash white, instead of orange. Vehicles also completely lack turn signals.
- The RC Truck is referred to as a truck, even on in-game dialogue, even though it resembles a Ford E-Series or a Chevrolet Express.
- Art Evolution: When the game was first released in 2012, the character and vehicle models were less detailed and more polygonal, while a large overhaul released on December 15, 2016 improved said models to be more detailed and added improved Ragdoll Physics into the game.
- Bland-Name Product:
- The Mundaneo, a 90s-looking car, is based and named after the Ford Mondeo.
- The Fjord is a reference to Ford in general, despite being based on the Chrysler Neon.
- "Faux News", which can be seen on the RC Truck's livery, is a spoof of Fox News.
- The Pug, a hatchback based on the Peugeot 308, is basically a shortened form of Peugeot's name.
- Similarly, the Evo, a sedan clearly based on the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, is a clipped form of "Evolution".
- Cardboard Prison: It's possible to finish "Caught by the Fuzz" under a minute by bypassing the two guards at the dock without being shot, escaping the prison successfully and making it back to the Corona City mainland.
- Company Cross References:
- Oil tankers have an "Apex Oil" logo on them, buses have "Apex Metro" written on their liveries, and the Pug Sport has "Apex Super" as one of its sponsors, referencing the game's developers.
- On Destra City, the Amiga Boing Ball logo could be seen. The Boing Ball was also used by Apex Designs briefly as their logo, emphasizing on their former status as a producer of Amiga games.
- Deadly Game: "Capture The Swag" is a twisted take on the outdoor game Capture the Flag, except that the "flag" is a nondescript briefcase, which the player shall take from the opposing team to the player's team.
- Deadpan Snarker: The male avatar, whose voice can be mostly heard on Story Mode and when stealing cars. His delivery is mostly dry, possibly as a reference to the player being a criminal.
- Every Car Is a Pinto: All vehicles in the game explode when they get damaged enough. Oddly enough, vehicles burn up and explode when flipped or turned upside-down, and the only way of preventing it is to turn the vehicle back to the ground.
- Evil Brit: A protagonistic example. The boss in "Ready or Not" and "Gangster Tripping" has a British accent, and sounds wiser than the other bosses the player works with.
- External Combustion:
- The red van in "Ready or Not", which must be driven in front of a rival crime lord's courtyard. It then explodes after the mission, destroying the crime lord's house.
- The ice cream van in "Gangster Tripping" and the rocket car in "Born Slippy", which you must deliver to the garage in time, which are both rigged to explode if both aren't delivered.
- The tanker in "Born Slippy", which the player uses to blow up a rival gang's garage.
- Getaway Driver: The player becomes one to Ron and Trey, two associates of the boss who rob a bank.
- Murder by Remote Control Vehicle: On "Remote Control", the boss gives the player advice to kill his wife, who was caught cheating with another person, by detonating an explosive RC car under her car as punishment.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: A police uniform is available as one of the outfits the player can wear in the game. However, the police will still arrest the player.
- Police Are Useless: The police's only goal is to arrest you, no matter the wanted level. In fact, they won't arrest AI in game modes featuring the police, and AI characters might even steal their cars, leaving a helpless cop behind.
- Shout-Out:
- The Scooby is obviously, a reference to Scooby-Doo, but is also named after a popular nickname for Subaru cars. A campaign event, called "Scooby Snacks", is a reference to the snack from said franchise.
- The Tagline of Faux News seen on the RC Truck is "You can't handle the truth!". Said quote also pops up occasionally on the game's loading screens.
- The final chapter of Story Mode, "Born Slippy", is a reference to the song "Born Slippy .NUXX" by British band Underworld (Band).
- After blowing up the rival gang's garage in "Born Slippy", the boss quotes "I love the smell of burning napalm in the morning!", from Apocalypse Now.
- Some of the Campaign events are named after pop culture references:
- The Bandit event "Big Yellow Taxi" is a reference to the Joni Mitchell song of the same name.
- The Thief event "Rocket Man" is a reference to the Elton John song of the same name. Another event, also from Thief, is called "Out With a Bang".
- The Yakuza event "The Dead Pool" is a reference to the Marvel Comics character Deadpool.
- The first Godfather event is "Attack the Block", while the first Goodfella event is "King of the Hill". Its description even references the propane aspect of protagonist Hank Hill.
- The Hit Man event "All Your Base" is a quote from the infamous
English translation of Zero Wing. - Another Hit Man event "I Feel the Need" is a quote from Top Gun – "I feel the need, the need for speed!"
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: The boss in "Born Slippy", when you leave the rigged rocket car destroyed or explode out of time, making him shout profane words loudly at the payphone, failing the mission.
- Standard Snippet: The game's theme music is none other than Mozart's Requiem Mass in D Minor, which could be heard during the opening cutscene of the game.
