From the box and manual
On the distant planet Tawny, a war rages on: the house of Horus from the south, the dark empire of Set from the north. A low-ranking cadet from the House of Horus is the center of the difficult war for the Sun Throne. Flying a BUG, a small spaceship, over the cities of Tawny, there are 35 difficult missions to free from 20 types of enemies via 9 powerful weapons.
Two warring nations are locked in genocidal war on the dying planet of Tawy. The prize is the right to discover the Orion technology need to colonize the mysterious desert planet. House Horus and their sworn enemy House Set are the governments of these two nations. Each is seeking the total destruction of the other. Horians seek revenge for the assassination of their leader, then Divine Ruler of Orion, an act which plunged the planet into darkness. The Houses are desperate to uncover the secrets of ancient Tawy, hidden by the Divine Ruler to maintain the status quo. Unearthing this technology will end the stalemate and bring about a bloody peace.
You begin Sand Warriors as a low-ranking soldier of House Osiris: as a lowly Falconer you are provided with the most basic ship and weaponry available, allowing you to carry out simple reconnaissance and salvage tasks. Surviving the attention of enemy fighters will lead to higher rank, more complex tasks and greater responsibility. Each mission still has a set goal, but you select the objectives that you feel are of greater tactical importance. For example, destroying a radar station reduces the level of coordination between enemy military units, whereas targeting an aerodrome will increase the time it takes to mount an aerial defense.
Sand Warriors contains many ships and vehicles. Weapons in the game range from the most basic chain gun to the visually stunning but totally devastating nuclear warheads. The game stretches across 24 separate missions, taking place in a highly-detailed 3D environment. The playing area is enormous and contains huge cities with industrial and residential areas, bridges, temples and pyramids. The unique locations include oil rigs, silos, military installations, seaports, shipyards and vast mother-ships the size of skyscrapers patrol the air, making dangerous and heavily guarded targets.