America's Army: Proving Grounds vs Payday 2
America's Army: Proving Grounds is an FPS open-world game from U.S. Army (2013) while Payday 2 is an FPS simulation game from Overkill Software (2013).
Quick answer: Payday 2 rates higher, 7.9 to 6.8 on the GamingPickz Score, and America's Army: Proving Grounds is the cheaper at Free.
What each one is
America's Army: Proving Grounds is filed under FPS and Open-World. In contrast, Payday 2 under FPS and Simulation.
America’s Army: Proving Grounds is the official game of the U.S. Army and part of the highly acclaimed America’s Army game series. This free military game focuses on small unit tactical maneuvers and puts you to the test in a wide variety of new America’s Army maps and AA fan favorites.
PAYDAY 2 is an action-packed, four-player co-op shooter that once again lets gamers don the masks of the original PAYDAY crew - Dallas, Hoxton, Wolf and Chains - as they descend on Washington DC for an epic crime spree.
Story, characters and reception
Reception
America's Army has been generally positively received. GameSpot stated: "nothing beats going in and seeing what the Army really does. Without actually having to do it. (Wikipedia)
Plot
Payday 2 follows the events of Payday: The Heist , with three of the crew members – Dallas (portrayed by Eric Etebari , voiced by Simon Kerr), Wolf (Ulf Andersson), and Chains ( Damion Poitier ) – as well as their operator Bain (Simon Viklund) returning. Hoxton (portrayed by Josh Lenn, voiced by Pete Gold), the fourth member in the previous game, has been arrested by the FBI and replaced by Dallas' brother Houston (Derek Ray). After a brief hiatus from… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical reception Reception Payday 2 has received generally positive reviews from critics with general praise from the cooperative elements, but heavy criticism for the friendly AI. Vince Ingenito of IGN praised its cooperative gameplay, stealth mechanics and sound design, but was not as impressed at graphical quality. David Hinkle of Joystiq was impressed at the depth of customization, level progression and random elements. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| America's Army: Proving Grounds | Payday 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 6.8/10 | 7.9/10 |
| Steam rating | Mostly Positive (79%, 11,051) | Very Positive (89%, 674,295) |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | 79/100 |
| Price | Free | $9.99 |
| Install size | 9.77 GB | 32 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | verified |
| Released | 2013 | 2013 |
| Developer | U.S. Army | Overkill Software |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
America's Army: Proving Grounds vs Payday 2, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
America's Army: Proving GroundsFPS open-world gamePayday 2FPS simulation gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
America's Army: Proving GroundsFree to Play, FPS, ActionPayday 2Co-op, Action, FPSThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
America's Army: Proving GroundsScore 6.8 · 79% on SteamPayday 2 ✓Score 7.9 · 89% on Steam · 79 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
America's Army: Proving Grounds11,051 reviews · 9.77 GBPayday 2674,295 reviews · 81 add-ons · 32 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
America's Army: Proving Grounds ✓FreePayday 2$9.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
America's Army: Proving GroundsPlayablePayday 2 ✓VerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Payday 2 takes 2 of the marked rounds to 1. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueAmerica's Army: Proving Grounds and Payday 2 on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Nintendo
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Payday 2 (GamingPickz Score 7.9)
- The cheaper right now: America's Army: Proving Grounds (Free)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Payday 2 (verified)
- Lighter on storage: America's Army: Proving Grounds (9.77 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Payday 2 (674,295 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
FPSActionMultiplayerShooterTacticalFirst-PersonSingleplayerCo-op
Where they differ
Free to PlayMilitaryAmericaWarRealisticOpen World
HeistLooter ShooterOnline Co-OpStealthCrimeTeam-Based
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, America's Army: Proving Grounds is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Payday 2 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| America's Army: Proving Grounds | Payday 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | NVIDIA & AMD (1GB |
| Minimum CPU | — | — |
| Minimum RAM | — | 4 GB |
| Install size | 9.77 GB | 32 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: America's Army: Proving Grounds · Payday 2.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for America's Army: Proving Grounds and 6 for Payday 2. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are America's Army: Proving Grounds and Payday 2 in scope?
America's Army: Proving Grounds has drawn 11,051 Steam reviews and installs in 9.77 GB. Payday 2 has drawn 674,295 Steam reviews, ships 81 add-ons and installs in 32 GB.
Is America's Army: Proving Grounds or Payday 2 better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Payday 2 rates higher (7.9 to 6.8). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, America's Army: Proving Grounds or Payday 2?
America's Army: Proving Grounds is cheaper right now at Free, against $9.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get America's Army: Proving Grounds or Payday 2?
Payday 2 rates higher, 7.9 to 6.8 on the GamingPickz Score, and America's Army: Proving Grounds is the cheaper at Free. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.