In battle each character can freely move once per turn, and perform one action per turn as they maneuver around highly destructible environments.
When a country is under assault players send in a group of unique soldiers to fend off the invaders in turn-based skirmishes. Instead of constructing bases all around the world, gamers conduct business from a massive underground bunker that is sliced in half to offer something of an ant-farm view, and they launch satellites to keep watch over specific countries. To fight back, the world's governments have formed an elite paramilitary organization, and as commander of this 'Extraterrestrial Combat Unit,' players must coordinate a worldwide effort that includes planning combat missions, controlling the soldiers in battle, researching and reverse-engineering alien technology, and creating and upgrading the XCOM base. A re-imagining of the popular and influential 1994 PC title X-COM: UFO Defense, XCOM: Enemy Unknown takes place in the near future when hostile and technologically superior aliens have invaded Earth.
