Battlefield Vietnam is a first-person shooter. The game takes place during the Vietnam War. There are two warring parties in the game: the US/South Vietnamese army and the North Vietnamese/NSLF army. The game features a wide variety of maps based on real historical events and places, such as Operation Hastings, Ho Chi Minh Trail, Battle of Hue, Ia Drang Valley, Operation Flaming Dart, Siege of Khe Sanh, Cambodian Campaign, battle for Quang Tri and others. Many parts of the game were inspired by popular films about the Vietnam War. Examples include the ability to listen to Ride of the Valkyries on the radio and the tiger coloration of the M79 grenade launcher from the movie Apocalypse Now.