Alien 3 is a rail shooter in which the player uses a large light gun, modeled after machine guns featured in the Alien films, to kill various Alien creatures such as facehuggers and soldiers, unlike the film, which featured only three Aliens (including a face hugger, an alien runner and a queen chestburster). The player controls a space Marine who is tasked with reaching the prison colony featured in the film, in order to rescue prisoners who are under attack by the Aliens. The game is played across seven levels, and features various boss enemies, including a giant facehugger. Power-ups, such as a flamethrower, are available to the player throughout the game.