I was a huge fan of the original and when I heard they were making this in 2012 my biggest fear was that it would be too different than the original. And it was very different but after a few missions I absolutely loved it. Fast forward 3 years and I am attempting to do a second playthrough with the Enemy Within DLC and the LongWar mod. For those familiar with the difficulty level of the original "X-COM: UFO Defence" (absolutely punishing) LongWar is the answer to all the haters that complained that the new X-COM was too simplified, the mod basically doubles the diversity of the equipment adds a fatigue feature that forces you to use your whole Roster and ups the difficulty of the AI, did I mention 8 man squads?
Have fun and watch the skies,
Matt Ritchey