Downtown depicts the great air battles that spun out across the skies above "Downtown" Hanoi during the Vietnam War. The game covers the gamut of operations in the deadly Route Package 6 strike zone, from the gradualist Rolling Thunder campaign of 1965-1968, to the hammer-blows of the 1972 Linebacker operations, culminating with the "Christmas B-52 bombing" campaign that brought the Vietnam War to a conclusion.

Downtown recreates the entire air raids in detail. The U.S. player is the raid commander, marshalling packages of 30-70+ Air Force or Navy aircraft, comprising bombers, fighters, defense suppression, jamming, and recon planes. The North Vietnamese (DRV) player manages a network of AAA and SAM anti-aircraft defenses supported by a "thin red line" of MiG fighters.