Red Heat is based on the Walter Hill film of the same name, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Belushi. You take control of Soviet detective Ivan Danko (played by Schwarzenegger), who travels to Chicago in pursuit of the fearsome Georgian drug lord Victor Rosta.

The game is essentially a side-scrolling beat'em up in the vein of Vigilante. As Danko, you proceed across four levels which follow the movie's original setting, where you are constantly attacked by members of the Cleanheads, a group of drug-dealers who are in business with Victor Rosta. To eliminate hostiles you can either punch them (slow but long-ranged) or head-butt them (close-ranged but faster). The only defensive move available is crouching, so as to avoid being hit - there is no jumping or any other evasive tactics. Occasionally, you can get hold of a handgun and fire six shots at the villains. Other items you can pick up will boost your health, grant you access to bonus levels, or cause you to lose control of Danko for a few seconds.

One peculiarity of Red Heat is its widescreen-like game area, and the fact that all characters are drawn from the waist up. This may find partial explanation in the first level, set in a Russian sauna where, as in the original movie scene, all characters are not wearing clothes.

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