After playing the first one recently, I have to say this was a step down in many ways.
It's biggest disappointment is that it [i]tried[/i] so hard to gather is scraps of story from the first game and it's DLC to make this sequel, but in doing so, it exposited things so it "made sense," such that, if you think about it, everything that's going on become nonsense via deus ex machina, apparent obliviousness, and hand waving. There are also logical holes in the world building that do not line up with the setting (if you think about it), but that pales in comparison to how weak the story and pacing was; you can see most of it coming from a mile away. Also, doesn't help that the characterization fell apart as well.
The game doesn't feel as tight. In EW1, you beat your way through a situation (often looking like you went through a meat grinder), only to stumble into some other BS scenario, and after a while you just get used to fighting through the madness that just kept coming. I believe it could do this because it was highly scripted and pulled out new stuff often, it kept you engaged. Also, even on normal, both you and the badies do a ton of damage, so good play often led to tense, but satisfying action. Yes, the base story made very little coherent sense, but per the subject matter, maybe that makes sense in a weird way???
In EW2, you are just trundling along, fight some guys, exposition, go here, go there; it feels like token effort was made to make something coherent. I was rolling my eyes or "going through the motions" very often. Most of the time its the same enemies, maybe reskinned, encounters aren't anywhere near as tense most of the time (and usually way easier). Also, even fully upgraded, you feel like you have about the same amount of room clearing capability as when you started.
Even with the black bars, EW1 felt and looked good, which is crazy, because it came out 12 years ago. EW2 felt generic in most regards, and looked kinda bland; the vibe wasn't setup right. Not a terrible game, but it felt tedious and unfulfilling compared to the first.
