If we've learnt anything from the XCOM announcement – apart from the fact that yes, it is in fact a first person game – it would be that us gamers generally react to franchise reboots in a structurally similar way.

For the benefit of all, we've distilled this sordid process into five easy steps. Simply follow it through, swap out names and the like for those that suit your particular situation, and you too can be a passionate gamer with an internet connection (if you aren't one already).

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Step 1: Initial Reaction

ZOMG!! It's [name of venerable franchise]. They're making a new game in the series! Wow! They'll be able to [add co-op/tell more of the story/make it not ugly] for a new generation! And they'll be able to include all the fantastic [name of gameplay genre you've known for years no sane developer will ever touch again]-style gameplay as well! Instabuy!
Step 2: Actually Reading Past The Headline

WHAT??!! It's actually going to be a [genre that is either exceedingly common, or is seen as the antithesis of the original game, or both]?? How the fluff will they incorporate [complex, rich and possibly obscure aspects of the original game] now? And they're developing it for [name of console] as well??!! WHAT??!!
Step 3: Bitter Rage

Fluff you [name of developer/publisher]! You [sold out/missed the point/had physical relations with a close relative], I hate you!! I'm going to [not buy new game/write a petition/threaten a nuclear apocalypse/make comparisons to how much people railed against Fallout 3] until you change it back to the way it was! And where is the [port for the console person actually owns]? By the way, it'll be [dumbed down for console], and therefore will [suck/blow].
Step 4: Rational (or Irrational) Hope

Hang on, hang on. Let's think about this. It's [name of old franchise], right? Who cares if it's [name of hated genre]. I mean, [name of hated genre] games aren't that bad. I remember playing [game from hated genre that person complained bitterly about until release], and that wasn't so bad. And, I mean, these guys also made [slightly newer game from hated genre that person complained bitterly about until release], so maybe this new game will actually be fun. They've said they're going to include [slightly less complex and obscure aspects of the original game] into this one. Oh, and [respected development individual's name] works there, right? Wait, [respected development individual's name] isn't working on this one? Nuts...
Step 5: Profit

Screw it. Four copies please.

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You see, as gamers, we're such fickle types. I had almost this exact conversation with Dan after I heard about XCOM for the first time, and a short scan of almost any gaming forum out there will yield the same results. That's just the nature of the internet generation. We love to complain.

The most interesting aspect of all this is that we allow ourselves to believe the unbelievable so easily. I mean, we all secretly know that any franchise reboot will absolutely NOT be a carbon copy of the original but with better production values.

Instead, we allow ourselves to hope for the extremely improbable, and when our most deep-seated beliefs are proven right, we stop judging (it's still really pre-judging) games for what they are or could be. Instead, we call them out for not being what we desperately, and impossibly, WANT them to be.

As games journos, we often have the dilemna of knowing more than the initial releases say, but being unable to say anything for fear of [publisher complaints/assassination/devine retribution]. That isn't to say we don't get angry about these thigns as well. Ours is just more informed unthinking rage.

Yes, sure, part of the problem is that publishers and developers make use of the names of these 10 year old franchises while creating a new game that, at first glance, appears to bear only a hazy resemblance to the games that came before. But, who knows? Maybe XCOM will actually be more like its namesake then we give 2K credit for? Then again, maybe not. We'll have to wait and see.