The player takes the role of Slade, a mercenary recruited by Martech Industries, Inc. to retrieve a crystal located in the Dome, in the center of the desolated city, which protects those within from the harmful radiation consuming the planet.

He must make his way through a chaotic San Antonio and fight military, civilian and security forces combined with irradiated mutants to reach the Dome and retrieve the crystal.

There are a variety of vehicles that the player can use including air boats, hover craft and buggies for traversing the large, sprawling levels.

As the story progresses it becomes clear that Slade is not the only person dispatched on his mission and the player encounters other heavily armed mercenaries sent by his employer.

"[2] GamePro gave Take No Prisoners credit for "a deep story line and tons of keyboard commands, tasks to accomplish, and areas to explore", but opined that the game world is frustrating and tedious to navigate due to its complexity, unappealing graphics, and "chintzy sound."

"[3] GameSpot instead considered the overhead perspective "a breath of fresh air" among the deluge of first-person action games coming out at the time.

They praised the presentation of the story through found log entries, the engaging puzzles, and the moody graphics, and remarked that while the game had its share of flaws, such as sluggish net play and a lack of wit in the player character's one-liners, it was overall different enough to be worth getting.