 Late in the 20th century, as end of the world paranoia reached it s peak, reports of UFO sightings, livestock mutilations, and alien abductions reached unprecendented highs. Investigations into these sighting revealed a startling truth: intelligent life does exist outside of Earth, but a group of them have come to Earth to enslave the human race. At first, each country tried to deal with the aliens in their own way, but found their technology sorely lacking. In December 1998, an emergency meeting of world leaders held a secret summit in Geneva to discuss solutions to the problem. What resulted was the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, designated X-Com, a multinational force, armed with the best technology Earth had to offer, the best scientists working in concert, and the best engineers the world over. This new force has just one purpose: Stop the alien threat, by any means necessary.