Adam Blessener from Game Informer:
Is this going to be dumbed down for the “wider console audience”?
Firaxis is undeniably streamlining aspects of the game and removing no small amount of micromanagement, but from what I’ve seen I wouldn’t call it “dumbing down” the game so much as getting rid of tedium and uninteresting mechanics. Soldiers still die permanently, fog of war and line of sight are hugely important in combat, and you absolutely can lose the game if you screw up too badly.
X-Com was undeniably one of my favorite strategy game franchises growing up as a kid. It was pretty unforgiving, though, and I definitely remember lots of saving and reloading. I’m all for getting rid of tedium and injecting some modern day game design into this and any other “reimaginings.” We tend to look at old favorites with rose-colored glasses and this almost always leads to the inevitable internet outrage when developers announce these sort of tweaks.
via Game Informer
Except it turns out that “streamlining” meant removing all the combat flavour from the game in favour of the uber-accessible to newbies Dungeons and Dragons RPG system ripoff the lead developer carries a bulge for. Seriously, no more time units (instead you either go a long way, or move a short distance and shoot once), no more ammo (not even for the rocket launcher), and no more battle inventory or picking things up off the ground (so no more carrying wounded troops back to the dropship, no more snatching things and running off with them, no more tossing clips of ammo around). Oh, and you start with only four guys and it probably only goes up to six. And you only get one proper base, though they’re trying to distract people from that by turning the base interface into The Sims.