After committing crimes, the player has to avoid being arrested or killed by the police, SWAT or army. The player may also obtain money from activities such as destroying vehicles and killing pedestrians. The mission instructions include various criminal acts such as assassination or robbery.
The player receives a mission after answering a ringing payphone, where instructions from 'the boss' are given via an accomplice. Payback 2 has a single-player 'story' mode consisting of multiple chapters, the usual objective of each chapter being for the player to complete missions in order to obtain enough money to complete the chapter, unlocking the next.
