Better than what I read...
As per the first critique, I agree to a point. The story does not have the depth of DA:O since every quest take place in the same city (Kirkwall) and the quest from outside the city might be in different "name" locations though the actual maps for the areas are all the same. So that is a valid critique but there is some information missing. The depth that we learn about the city of Kirkwall is impressive plus we see it change over the years. The subtle differences to the areas and the quests that are available, based all upon the choices you make, after a few years of play bring the city more to life, whereas in Orzammar and Denerim you only see parts of the city over the course of a shorter length of time. Perhaps we later DLC the depth of DAII's story will grow like Awakening helped DA:O but we will have to wait and see what Bioware does. The critique was also made that there is no end point no goal. Well, that depends on how you look at it. There is not a Blight at the end but there is an end goal. Essentially, the end goal is there is a war brewing and what side will you end up on? That seems pretty straightforward to me. The story is a lot of side quests, but these side quests are building your character. This game is a lot about what Hawke (the main character) might have dealt with on a daily basis to get where he is. You choose what type of hero he will be and why, because of all those side quests and at the end, hopefully you understand that this is just another chapter in what is definitely a much bigger story.
As for the simplicity of aspects of the game, the fighting style is amazing and more simplified but I see that as an improvement. You can experience amazing fighting sequences without a lot of button mashing which is always a good thing in my opinion. Menus are simpler to see and look through as well. Though one menu that is missing from DAII that I enjoyed using was the conversations menu (if I am missing it please let me know) where you could read the last conversation you just had with someone because depending on locations in the game, some dialogue can be lost in the background.
Lastly as for the loading times being long, I completely disagree, though perhaps I did something most people do not do. I downloaded the game to my Xbox 360 and then played the game from the disc with the game on my console as well. Loading times seemed relatively quick for me as compared to even other Bioware games. So, perhaps, if you are experiencing really long load times it might simply mean you should try downloading the game to your Xbox.
The game is overall an amazing experience that can keep you ingrained and entertained for 30 to 40 hours. Having played the first one and then the second a lot of conversations points made a lot more sense. You could play DAII without having played DA:O but a lot of details might be missed that would make the story that much more enjoyable if you had played the first game. With the improvement in the fighting styles and depth of what some see as a simple story, I am greatly impressed with the game. I wish a few more questions were answered by the time I finished but as long as there is DLC or perhaps a Dragon Age III in the future, perhaps all I need to do is patiently wait...or perhaps simply create my a different version of my Hero of Kirkwall and perhaps see some different stories that I am sure are still to be found in DA:II.