[2] In the year 2712, players control a team of four outlaw mercenaries, chosen from a pool of twelve, attempting to destroy illegal bio-engineered organisms using a thermonuclear explosion.

Upon release, Hired Guns received praise for its multiplayer mode, offering moments of surprise and satisfaction, but it faced criticism for its documentation, copy protection, and clumsy inventory management.

An array of light and heavy weapons (including robot sentries), incendiary devices, mines and grenades can be used to take out the enemy (or friends) either on the same level as the player or below.

Underwater areas affect gameplay in two major ways: human characters will drown if they stay under for too long while weapons and equipment will take damage at varying rates until they are destroyed outright.

Computer Gaming World in 1994 praised Hired Guns's multiplayer mode when playing the campaign or minigames, noting the "fantastic moments of surprise" from friendly fire or nearby allies unintentionally preventing a wounded player from escaping.

The magazine criticized the "thorough, but flawed" documentation and "extremely intrusive copy protection", inability for keyboard players to strafe, and clumsy inventory management, but concluded that "Hired Guns is viscerally satisfying".