I bothered to pick up my classic playthrough of EW because I hadn't finished it (I'm not a masochist, so "that's XCOM baby!" is not *that* fun to me, normal is good enough for me), and things were going pretty decent until I had to do the Overseer mission. I was quickly reminded of how many improvements XCOM 2 made to basic gameplay and strategic options, because that mission features two sectopods and in EU/EW those are basically just broken assholes. The lack of the aim-buff that normal and easy modes give the player reinforces that when your colonels can't destroy it but it sure can destroy them in just one shot, despite their titan armor and colonel status.
It was a quick reminder of how superior the second game is in having more strategic options and enemies (without over-buffing those enemies to where you can't beat them, with the exception of the Rulers), but also far more organic ways of forcing players to use them, as well as ditching that broken pod system of the first game. Sure, the second game can throw an unreasonable amount at you too (late game enemies in particular), but you'll know where they are and where they'll be coming from. Also verticality in the level design (and the bonuses that come with it) works far better in the sequel than in EU/EW.
It really is a much better game than the original, timer complaints be damned.
