Set on an alien world, Prisoner of Power lets the player control the armies of four different unique races, each with special forces and abilities. For the most part, troops generally fall into standard categories - infantry, artillery, air, and armor, with specialized weaponry further differentiating units (e.g., infantry may, or may not, have effective weapons against armor, depending on how they're equipped). The terrain, including weather and daylight, plays a larger factor here than in similar games. Fog of war also looks to be key to successful play, as many units can see little farther than their movement capabilities - order them to advance too quickly, and they may end up in an inadvertent ambush of enemy forces.