[1] The player controls one of sixteen different aircraft,[2] including the F-4 Phantom, Su-27 Flanker, and Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk,[3] and must complete each of the game's seventeen levels, each having mission objectives that must be fulfilled.

[4] Alongside the main single-player campaign, there is also a split-screen multiplayer deathmatch mode, where two players attempt to destroy each other in the quickest time possible.

[4] In 1995, a terrorist organization launches an insurrection against allied nations, specifically the Skully Islands in the fictional country of Usea.

In response to attacks made across the globe, a mercenary air force is assembled to prevent the terrorist organization from seizing control of the government.

The two were commissioned by company executives to create a home port of the arcade game Air Combat for the then-new PlayStation console.

[6][7] Problems arose early in development for the home port, as staff did not believe the PlayStation's hardware was powerful enough to properly render the arcade version's gameplay.

[5] At the time, Namco primarily focused on developing ports of arcade games like Ridge Racer and Cyber Sled, which often contained content exclusive to their PlayStation releases.

[5][8] The project planner, Asahi Higashiyama, believed the PlayStation's superior hardware could allow for more potential in the game and room for expansion.

[15] Writers from IGN, who compared it favorably to Warhawk, praised its action-packed gameplay,[18] as did AllGame's Michael House and a reviewer from Coming Soon.

[17] Several argued the game started off at a slow and boring pace at the beginning, but became more fun after a while; GamePro wrote that patient players would "gradually get caught up in the gripping gameplay".

[15][20] Like IGN, Famitsu also stated the graphics were the game's low point, arguing that its arcade predecessor Air Combat 22 had much better visuals.