You also command a small army of space marines in jet-powered battle suits, which can be deployed to collect power-ups, retrieve colonists and add to your firepower. Two simultaneous players may engage the enemy side by side.

The basic premise remains two-way horizontally scrolling action as you fly your Aerial Jet Fighter over the planets' surfaces, attacking the invaders and protecting the colonists. Added to your arsenal are a new array of selectable weapons, from mines and homing rockets to devastating air-strikes and atomics; these can be restocked at the interstellar supply center.