It is the year 2010: after more than a half-century's worth of military interventions, the United States of America, together with the former Soviet Union, have wearied of their roles as global police. The former world powers are forced to minimise military operations that threaten damage of mammoth proportions upon their domestic political affairs and economies. As a counter-move, more and more nations are recruiting secret, highly specialised mercenary units to carry out specific operations. Wars are no longer determined by state armies but instead by small, powerful units of armed soldiers of fortune.

Every decision made, every assignment accepted or rejected, brings with it consequences for the remainder of play. Over the course of time, the player has the option of acquiring new weapons systems currently in existence only as secret prototypes in the weapons industry's research laboratories or as plans in the heads of the military leadership.