The idea is to take other systems away from competing corporations. Resource management has been dumbed down considerably, however not having to do mining missions is a plus. This means all enemy units move together, and the AI is limited to bunching up and focusing on one target. There is only one tactic that is effective, which is to move, shoot, and move away, which gets repetitive and boring. Bioderm and Herc creation is excellent, but doesn't matter because the need to conserve them isn't as important anymore with the real-time element.
Graphics are at a higher resolution, but the units are defaulted at a smaller setting.
Zooming in, you usually can see the better resolution, but then you lose your view of the battlefield. Little else has changed about the design. Sound is mediocre at best. Obviously not a high priority with the development team.