The player takes on the role of a
US Army special operations Green beret and player 2 takes the role of a soldier of the
United Nations in cooperative mode. Players must infiltrate enemy
POW camps in
Vietnam to find prisoners of wars and lead them to freedom. Like its predecessor, there are a total of six
levels in the game: war-torn field, jungle, airstrip, railyard, POW camp, and escaping POW camp.
M.I.A. can be played by up to two players, with player 1 in green and player 2 in blue. Throughout most of the game, the player's main weapon is a knife, which is capable of destroying any enemy in the game. By killing the red enemy soldiers, the player can acquire additional weapons. The available weapons consist of an
assault rifle, a
flamethrower, a
bazooka, and
grenades. Unlike
Green Beret, the player can carry more than one weapon and switch between them at will. If the player loses a life, then only their currently equipped weapon will be lost. At the end of each level, an assorted number of troops appears on fixed machine gun positions (usually four) that must be eliminated. On the last mission of the game, the freed hostages are susceptible to being slain by enemies; if all the POWs get killed then "MISSION FAILED" flashes on the screen and the
game is permanently over. ==Versions==