The game takes place on an unknown (presumably Cuban) Caribbean island, where two commando soldiers (or one in the case of a single player game) fight the army of a local dictator (in the Japanese version of the game, her heroes were Che Guevara and Fidel Castro).

The game is a clear follower of "Iron Tank: The Invasion of Normandy" (arcade machines, 1985), only there instead of commandos you need to control a tank. Gameplay in Guerrilla War is also very similar to SNK's Commando (arcade, 1985) and Ikari Warriors (arcade, 1986). the use of rotating joysticks, which made it possible to choose the direction of fire regardless of the direction of the hero's movement.