During the game, the player rescues hostages and battles with terrorists from a top view perspective at Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.

[3] By shooting at grids in the wall, John is also able to climb in the vents, dropping into a designated spot or moving down or up a floor.

The player has about four minutes before one of the six locks are opened, but can gain more time by destroying the main computer on the fourth floor.

[5] The meter starts out full, but will eventually decrease if the player character steps on shattered glass or runs around.

At some point, in order to draw attention and garner sales, the Nihon managed to secure the Die Hard license and have many changes implemented to the original product including character models and the plot to coincide with the film.

[6] Because of this, the game takes several liberties with the source material, such as McClane fighting his way through a jungle, then a Vietnamese river while shooting an assortment of generic enemies such soldiers, Vietnamese troops and security guards before finally reaching the basement of Nakatomi Plaza to climb to the top a destroy an enemy attack helicopter to rescue his wife, Holly.