Play PaybackTime 2 Online

PaybackTime 2 came out in 1997 as part of the MS-DOS Classic Games collection, a time when turn-based strategy games were finding a solid foothold on home computers. It was developed by a small team, though the exact studio name escapes me now; what stuck was its straightforward, no-frills approach to competitive play. This was an era of shareware and compact design, and the game fit right in with its functional graphics and direct mechanics.

You control a team of soldiers on a destructible, multi-level map, taking turns with another player to position your units and fire weapons like grenades and missiles. The main goal is to eliminate the opposing team before they can do the same to you. Signature mechanics include terrain deformation, where every shot carves out chunks of the landscape, and careful angle and power adjustments for each attack. The pacing is deliberate, almost chess-like, but the screen shakes with each explosion, and one wrong move can collapse your position entirely. It feels tense and tactical, especially when you’re lining up that perfect shot while your friend watches nervously.

Each game uses different controls, most DOS games use the keyboard arrows. Some will use the mouse , "Alt" ,"Enter" and "Space bar".