Crime Crackers is a a first-person action shooting game. The player controls the Pink Dolphin team as they explore each area, defeating enemies and collecting useful items. Combat is real-time, but the player must switch into attack mode in order to attack enemies. This gives the player an aiming cursor, but reduces movement to only left and right strafing. To make up for reduced mobility the player can also block incoming attacks. Each stage culminates in a boss fight at the end, and between stages there are short dialogue scenes that drive the story, as well as an opportunity to buy and sell items.