For your first game, North America is a decent choice. You'll be offered a choice of continental bases. XCOM isn’t particularly forgiving of mistakes. New players should probably accept the Normal difficulty, which is plenty difficult. Items recovered during the tactics sections fuel scientific research in the simulation mode, and technological breakthroughs in the strategic section enhance the abilities of squad members during the tactical portions of the game.
The strategic operations game requires the player to manage the XCOM base, b uilding facilities, researching technology, manufacturing new equipment, training soldiers, balancing a budget, and directing an avionic weapons and satellite program. Scenarios include counteracting alien abduction attempts, searching crashed UFOs, rescuing civilians, and assaulting various ET installations. Players control squads of four to six soldiers engaging Enemies. The tactical game takes place on a variety of small battlefields. XCOM is a turn-based squad tactical strategy game fused with a real-time strategic operations simulator.
