I've never played the older version, but I recently acquired the movie based game, mostly because my 10 year old son is showing an interest in wargames, and I thought this would be quick and easy to learn. I was pretty pleased with it from that standpoint, as we were up and playing the harder scenarios in about a day (the rules are "programmed instruction"). There are some genuine tactics involved, and my son has learned quite a bit from the game that will apply to other games.

He always plays the MI, so he has learned the basics of line of site, range, multiple fire support, combined arms, etc. The bugs are less complex, simply because of their lack of ranged fire (for the most part). The idea for the bugs is to stay five hexes away from the MI until they can overwhelm them in one big rush. And I'll admit seeing all of those bugs swarm the MI is pretty darn cool!!

Overall, the game is great as a learning experience, and it is also open ended so that you can build your own scenarios. It is fun and easy to play, though I'm not sure for how long.