* Mission dossiers are put together by the intelligence and research centres in the base. Dossiers will list effects such as high winds, insect swarms, ball lightning and animal attacks. "The different effects listed by the dossier also pertain to the presence of specific aliens to research or elements to be recovered."
* "Spreading his efforts across the country will also endear XCOM's investors to contribute additional funds. Optimising your operation is the heart of XCOM's strategy, and from what we've seen, it feels a hell of a lot like the original."
* The engineering section of your base can produce weapons, armour, gadgets, and base upgrades.
* Lead designer Ed Orman says: "None of these missions will play the same because they're neither linear nor scripted. There are systems at play that populate these places with enemies, determining where they're going to be and where your goals are. The mission map is an open, non-linear play space."
* No Sectoids or Chrysalids. (Or any aliens from the original, presumably.)
* The black blobs are just one of XCOM's "diverse alien enemies".
So says
bamboo. I'd point out that the thing about not playing the same is entirely possible. I just picked up SWAT4 from Direct2Drive, and the folks responsible for that game managed it pretty well.
