The game involves flyingairplanesthat tests the player'sSidewinder missileandmachine gunfiring skills against variousnon-aligned nationsthat were historically notorious for housingextremistleaders during theCold War. The game was released in North America, Europe, and Japan approximately simultaneously.[1]In the Japanese version, real political flags are not used unlike the North American version.
The main character in the game is a pilot flying for the United Nations whose sole objective is to bring various governments around the world back into cooperation with the UN.[2]Each time a military campaign against a certain regime is completed, the flag of the nation in question is again raised at theUnited Nations HeadquartersinNew York City.Libya,Iraq,Cuba, andNorth KoreaofferSoviet-manufactured aircraft like theMiG-27and theMiG-29for the player to in order to advance the war effort.[5]
There are various types of targets in the game, including air, land and water targets[2]in an environment that gives players permission tofreely roamaround the battlefield, limited only by the player's fuel supply. Land targets include nuclear power plants (but often include anti-air weapons and tanks); the player may suffer fromradiation sicknessafter destroying nuclear plants from too close a distance.[6]Radiation sickness must be healed using one of the player's limited sorties or it will become fatal.[6]Weapons in the game include guns, missiles,electronic jammers, and bombs. Each mission on every war theatre consists of both mandatory and optional targets. It has been noted by gamers that all in-game weapons have the same explosion graphics, regardless of them beingair-to-surface missilesorair-to-air missiles.[5]
Shooting the optional targets gives the player a higher score. Furthermore, destroying airfields, although not necessarily required to complete a mission, would stop opposing MiG-29 fighters from being ordered by theAI-controlled commander to destroy the player's aircraft.[5]In the more advanced missions, players can shootchemical weaponsfactories andterroristcamps for bonus points. Although the player's progress cannot be saved to the cartridge, there are a number of passwords the player can use to resume missions. Crashing the airplane and beingkilled in actionwill result in the flags (located at the United Nations building in New York) being lowered to half-staff. Dying in the game will also produce the playing of "Taps" while the world mourns the deceased pilot.[6]
There is a practice round and then the player is thrown into real-life combat zones in order to test the skills learned in the practice round. Each combat zone is divided into a day level and a night level; day levels are considered to be an introduction while the night levels are considered to be thecoup de grâceand allow the player to finish of the last of the dictator's defenses.[5]Targets become progressively more difficult to destroy. Unlike most shooter games, the player only has one plane. If the player crashes, the game is over and a screen indicating the nations (if any) that were reclaimed by the player displays.