Charge 'N Blast is a linear shooter in much the same vein as classic arcade titles like Cabal and Nam-1975. As in the aforementioned titles, all the action takes place in a single, fixed screen with player movement restricted to a horizontal plane. Though your character is only able to strafe left or right, an on-screen targeting cursor can be moved freely, and using this you'll be able to destroy the successive waves of mutated insects and other assorted creatures that plague the planet. Stages consist of a series of confrontations, each of which is preceded by a cutscene showing the protagonist "blasting" towards a new section of the level.
The "charging" aspect of the title refers to each character's ability to charge one of three weapons before firing. Doing so increases the damage potential of the weapon, thus enabling players to kill enemies more quickly. This is important as stages must be completed within a specified time limit, however, energy cells that add precious seconds to your timer can be obtained by destroying obstacles within each area. Players must also face off against giant boss characters -- including a massive Godzilla-like lizard -- at the end of each stage. Points are awarded based upon your performance in the level.
Three characters are immediately available for use: Johnny Rock, Nicholas Woods and Pamela Hewitt. And each is armed with a unique special weapon ranging from a multi-rocket launcher to a powerful grenade launcher. By beating the game on various difficulty settings, additional playable characters can be unlocked. The main mode of play can be tackled by one or two players simultaneously. A Time Attack mode challenges players to beat the game as fast as possible, while the Ranking mode allows players to view their high score data. Though originally developed by Sega, Xicat Interactive published the title in the US.