Well, I have it but got really put off by the start and just left it. I mean, I went from trying to stop a plague and catching four super dangerous monsters to taking part in some stupid competition in a village. I've heard that it's kind of awful later on too, so not sure if I want to get into it.
Yes it is. They improved a few aspects of the gameplay, like the party management, but everything else is inferior.
The gritty and dark and epic atmosphere of the first game was replaced by a more cheerful and colored and kid-friendly style, which also reflected into the entire design. Remember the realistic looking weapons and armors of the first (even the most fantastical looking ones kept a certain feeling of realism and you could say "Yeah I can buy it" no problem)? Forget it, now you got much fancier/ridiculous/disproportionate looking ones.
Story is very meh and absolutely nowhere as engaging as the first game, and quests are too.
The lore is presented to the player in a disorganized and uninteresting way, whereas in the first game informations were embedded in dialogues and books actually interesting to read.
It's not a bad game imo, for those who never played its predecessor, or even as a standalone game, after all. But for those who did, like me, kinda feels a letdown.
Man, I want a true sequel for that game, I was so disappointed by MWN2 and so sad when I got to know they made a f2p MMOPRG based on the franchise.
Obsidian couldn't capture the original's atmosphere, Bioware needs to get back to the franchise.