The player takes control of a commando who is out to rescue his kidnapped family, including his scientist grandfather who is being forced to create a weapon which will give the antagonist of the game, known only as "the Commissar", the power to take over the Earth. In the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version, the commando, known as Johnny Ford is …

During the beginning, the president and his wife wave at the crowd next to a limousine at the White House in Washington D.C., while terrorists (some flying in using jetpacks) approach the president and his wife armed and dangerous while the screen turns red and black. Later, a secret agent known as Sly Spy flies in a plane towards Washington …