The game is played from behind your Navy F-14 Tomcat as you blast oncoming fighter planes trying to bring you down. Perform complete barrel rolls by holding left or right as your machine guns continuously fire at anything in their path. Speed up by activating your afterburners or slow down to get a lock on your target. You also have a limited number of AIM-54 Phoenix missiles on board to use as you see fit, which can be replenished after completing a series of stages (a plane will fly overhead and automatically load them onto your F-14 Tomcat).