The more I learned and understood the original X-com and a lot of the tactical games, the worse they ended up being. I think there was a lot of sense to the changes they made for the modern XCOM, though I think there were also some missteps.
For example, the customizable bases were largely illusory- there’s an optimal layout and the alternate bases were optimally just launch bases for fighters with extra radar. There was a way to lay out each base that made invasions most difficult for the Aliens, etc.
FWIW, I don’t think XCOM actually questioned enough of the assumptions from the original- for example, the geoscape in XCOM and XCOM2 is something that always felt half-done, like they wanted to get the feeling of, but without any depth. IMO, they should’ve worked to find new, better mechanics because I don’t think the old geoscape was THAT great in the first place, but instead there was just something there with few meaningful decisions. It took Long War to improve it, but there’s still a long way to go there.
The tactical game, I think, is better realized- the timers are there to prevent the most degenerate defensive strategies, sometimes they’re tough, but they are there to push you out of your comfort zone. I think that’s a better kind of pressure than ‘random alien walks around the corner and blaster bombs your avenger’ which is something that can absolutely happen in the original.
I didn’t think much of JA2, either, once I started to understand it.