Although there are some significant improvements on the original, several aspects diminish the experience for me.
Don't get me wrong, this is still a great rpg; Bioware took many of the minor problems of the first game to heart, like the dull combat. In addition to the combat overhaul (Which is quite good in my opinion), DA2 gives your character a voice, one which is surprisingly well done actually.
I chose to play as a somewhat witty comedian, but who also had a serious side. To do this, one simply chooses between several options on the dialogue wheel, typically either funny, evil, or good. The voice acting of the main character is superb, and many of the dialogue options were hilarious, not just in their content, but because they seemed genuine. The most delightful aspect of this was that if you choose the comedic option enough, your character just adopts a sarcastic tone in general.
The graphics have enjoyed a serious upgrade from the original dragon age, which is greatly appreciated. In addition, the environments are highly detailed and beautiful.
For the first 10 or so hours of the game, I was in love, and well on the track to giving this game a very high score, but soon few surprising issues began to upset me. Virtually every indoor dungeon or cave in this game is one of only 5 or 6 small areas. Not only are you going to get sick of these recurring dungeons quickly, but they are quite small, unlike many of the DAO dungeons.
Interaction with your companions is still there, but it is all scripted into the story. These events seem quite forced, since you can no longer just talk whenever you want to with your companions, and the dialogue is only a tiny fraction of what it was in the first game.
The story is somewhat strong, but still not nearly as driving as the story of DAO, since there is no central focus to it, and it just kind of happens as you go.
Overall, I am happy to see that Bioware addressed many of the complaints from the first game, but I am very dissappointed that they either left out so much, or changed it. I did enjoy the game very much, but in the back of my mind some of these key issues prevented it from having the same impact on me that DAO did.