I'm still at about mid-game with my very first playthrough (have to do the first alien base raid mission, so I think that's about where I'm at.)
My 2 cents: It's a pretty fun game, but even though I got it the weekend after release, I don't have a whole lot of time in it largely because it just doesn't leave me with that 'must play more' feeling that other really good games give you. Sometimes I get the 'one more turn' thing going while I play, but OTOH I'm also not usually looking forward to playing right after getting home.
I also don't really understand the 'make fewer decisions but now more important' mentality that some of the die-hard fans of EU tout. It's what I consider a type of 'artificial difficulty' because it limits your freedom and decision making ability by forcing these scripted choice events. Abduction missions: choose between country A, B, or C because every time the aliens perform an abduction mission, they have magical 'stealth' UFOs that only perform synchronized landings. UFO interceptions are completely scripted and pointless because you can't intercept mission UFOs (without modding the game anyway, and if you do it unbalances your game because it wasn't designed to actually use that feature.) They're there purely to be shot down, and you're practically forced to unless you want to take a hit to the panic rating. No more can you make your job somewhat easier by being able to prevent alien missions from happening in the first place by shooting down UFOs before they land, instead you're forced to make stupid choices between who to help after they've already landed.
It's just an illusion of choice and freedom. So long as you're careful and 'play smart enough' by always taking the obvious best choice/path, you're basically guaranteed to win. They almost make it too easy to win in this regard, because they make it pretty obvious most of the time what the best choice is. You're constantly guided and held by the hand with everyone telling you what exactly needs done. It can be pretty unforgiving when you screw up, but you usually have to be pretty careless and not paying attention, except when game breaking bugs occur such as the alien squad that teleports in right behind your squad near the start of a mission, or when an alien squad gets TWO free moves after being activated.