XNA is NOT a language and NOT an engine of any kind!
It is a FRAMEWORK! (Hence the name "
XNA Framework"
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif)
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A framework is just a kind of library making your job easier. It is C# all the way, using pre written help functions for common stuff, and all those help functions is together called the XNA Framework.
It does not have pre written cameras, but the functions to do one yourself easier.
It does not have a particle system, not an input manager, not a scene manager, no visual tools (except for audio) and so on, but it helps you write all this stuff yourself quicker. There is not even any GUI controls that you can just start using. I built my own list boxes, text labels and so on.
This is why I use XNA for my current project, there is no good engine for it out there, and it would be too much work to write one in C++/DX or similair but XNA makes it possible.