I also don't get the "dilutes the X-COM brand" comments. X-COM had one good game. ONE!
If we were talking about a lesser game, then I'd agree with you. But that "one game" just so happens to be one of the most revered and heralded games in the history of interactive entertainment. That "one game" still places in the top 5 of virtually every Best Games of All Time list compiled by anyone with even a passing interest in PC strategy games. That "one game" IS the franchise. It is a legend, and from what I've seen so far this new game only serves to marginalize it even further than the already weak fare it has been sullied with.
By any other name, this game would look intriguing and probably be hotly anticipated by most gamers. But branding it with the 'XCOM' moniker and inviting comparisons to the greatness of the original when it ostensibly has so little to do with the brand is head-scratchingly confusing.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi