The player takes control of a team of three G.I. Joe characters, each with his own specialty. The goal of the game is to navigate through six stages on a mission to finally bring down Cobra. The initial character roster consists of Duke, Snake Eyes, Blizzard, Captain Grid-Iron, and Rock 'n Roll. A sixth character, Hawk, gives orders to the team between missions, and becomes available as a playable character for the final stage. The player's first character is automatically assigned depending on the stage, while the second and third characters are freely chosen. The player collects power-ups in the game that increases an individual character's abilities. Gun icons increases firepower, K-rations recovers energy, and Chevron icons increases the current character's maximum stamina. Bullet icons refills the player's collective ammunition and bulletproof vest icons that grant temporary invincibility are also available at designated locations on each area. Icons flashing in red are more valuable than ordinary icons. All upgrades garnered during the course of the game are permanent, provided of course the character survives the mission.