The game is inspired by dozens of 1950s monster movies especially the 1954 mutant-ant classic Them!, with the title referencing the 1953 horror film, It Came from Outer Space.

The game is a non-linear combination of dialogue boxes and several types of action scenes, typical of contemporary Cinemaware releases.

Early in the game he learns that the radiation of the meteor has enlarged a local ant population to an enormous size, however few take his observations seriously.

In order to succeed the player must visit many locations ranging from mines, farms, a pub, an airfield, a local radio station and others to find evidence of the ants, then convince townsfolk and authorities of impending doom.

Only in using every resource available, from workers to the tanks and fighter jets of the National Guard, will the player be able to take the fight to the giant ants.

In early 1991, Cinemaware released a version for MS-DOS (ported by Level 9 Computing in a final attempt to stay in business before they ceased operations in June of that year).

Prior to cancellation, former Black Pearl Software programmer Matt Harmon stated that the Genesis/Mega Drive version was 99% complete.

[2] Although the Sega version was never actually offered for sale, it was distributed as a ROM image (for use with console emulators) from the Cinemaware website after the turn of the 21st century.

The storyline and characters were dramatically changed; the player character is no longer a spry scientist from the city visiting the countryside, but a local teenage biker punk named Buzz Lincoln who is somehow immune to the ant queen's mind control and begins a nearly hopeless counterattack against her hordes.

[7] Scott also reviewed the sequel Antheads, and found that it was too similar to the original game, noting: "More varied graphics and a complete new soundtrack would have been nice."

The sequel was directed and designed by David Riordan and was available on store shelves in Europe and via mail order in North America.

The player character is Brick Nash, a war veteran and now working as a truck driver who has stolen a detonator for an atomic bomb because his younger brother Andy is a tester for the weapon.

[11] Brick Nash is an ex-fighter pilot who has recently returned from the Korean War, responding to a warning of thousands of potential deaths due to atomic testing in the desert outside the town of Lizard Breath.

[11] Mark Patterson from CU Amiga (May, 1990) rated the game at 95% and recommended Antheads to anyone who owned It Came from the Desert, calling it "One of the best sequels to date.