Special Forces lets the player select a team of four from a squad of eight operatives. Once a mission is selected in one of the four regions (temperate zone, arctic, desert and jungle - daytime and nighttime variants) the player is briefed. Objectives range from hostage rescues, destroy specific objects, reconnaissance missions. The game displays a top-down view of a part of the mission area in various configurations (one viewport per soldier up to four views at the same time in split-screen mode). The player also has access to a strategic battle map with enemy locations visible (there is no fog of war in the game).
