After selection of region, style, and enemies, the pilot is assigned a primary mission and a secondary mission. These could include such objectives as "Destroy enemy headquarters" or "Support friendly troops" (i. e. destroy targets near friendly forces). The latter would be an easier mission, because the battle would be fought closer to friendly lines.

Gunship depicts one of the Western world's finest attack helicopters: The AH-64A Apache. This simulation recreates the weapons, flight systems, and performance of the real machine. The player controls an arsenal that includes laser-guided Hellfire missiles, a 30mm cannon controlled by helmet gunsights, clusters of bombardment rockets--even air-to-air missiles for duels with enemy helicopters. The game starts with flight training at a base in the United States. Tutorials teach the player to handle the copter; once the controls and flying skills are mastered, there are escalating challenges and hundreds of missions in any one of four regions of the world, including Southeast Asia, Central America, the Middle East, and the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies in Western Europe.