Obligatory post where I speak up in support of a game that's really dang good.
If you played the original XCOMs:
There's a good chance you'll like this. It really is pretty true to the source material, but expanded *and* streamlined. Yes, you can only command 6 soldiers at a time - but (at least on the medium difficulty where I played, ironman) it's not game-ending to lose some. Or all. I found there was a balance between valuing my soldiers, and soldiering on despite their deaths. Call me sentimental, but I tended to idle on the KIA screen (which gradually accumulates shot glasses and remembrances as you inevitably fuck up). They captured the "losing is fun" aspect, and drastically reduced the tediousness.
It's far closer to the first two games than the UFO: Afterlight trilogy. Which I also liked, but for different reasons, and frankly not as much. (Mainly due to awkard interfaces, crashes, bad optimizing, and repetitive missions. Still fun, but more fun in theory than in execution. I still beat 1 and 3, then half of 2.)
Maybe I'm a sucker for good audio cues, but the "Time to fight" theme that plays whenever you go to the pre-mission equipment screen still gives me shivers.
Frankly, this game does for me what XCOM used to do, without the tedium and with pretty graphics. Next time I'm really sick and want to blow a couple days, I'll go for the Afterlight series (or possibly Extraterrestrials, which is also grindy as heck). If I want to save the Earth and feel badass doing it, I'll go for a third playthrough of the new XCOM.
If you haven't played TBS before: Turn based strategy is not for everyone. Consult your doctor before playing TBS. Void where prohibited, prohibited where void.
Rest in peace, Sheldon Brown.