Hey Knathrek,
I agree with you on that point; the numbered buttons from XCOM are much better than the general number-of-aliens-sighted, but there is a plus side to it. With this system, you're always able to see the aliens, no matter which soldier you have selected (it wasnt like that in XCOM as far as I can remember). Also, if you want to know if a soldier can see the alien in question, use the first person view!! (its "v" if you weren't aware of it). Now that in my mind is definitely one-over on XCOM!