Everything that made Dungeon Siege great has been lost in this gorgeous but broken sequel.
For starters, the Mage-type character class is completely uselss. Rather than adhering to the typical "ranged damage dealer, splash/cloud for close-proximity defense", they opted to give him what amounts to a close-combat punch (single target, at that) and a med/long-range swipe attack. Worse, none of the character customization nor skill trees actually provide much of an ability to customize any of the characters. Thus even the most effective default abilities (the staff/fire class) provide nothing to look forward to in terms of a level ladder.
Combat is exceptionally unbalanced -- that is, when there's actual combat to be found. When you're not casually batting away the rather sparse, occasional pawns, you're faced with hugely powerful boss characters that necessitate cheap tactics or annoying reloads. I found it extremely odd that they have no concept of mini-bosses.
Finally, the original DS didn't try to screw up the formula with "hardcore" RPG depth. This one attempts to throw in stacks of unnecessary dialogue trees, items to investigate, annoyingly bad voice actors (particularly the main characters and their ineffective personal stories), and elements that simply serve to further slow this down. Note to developers: This is not an Elder Scrolls game -- stick with what makes ARPGs fun! Personally, I love intricate plots and deep conversation trees, but they don't belong here. ...and the side quests in this case just equate to back-tracking through maps you've already cleared (not that there's any wide-area map feature available -- just the mini-map at two zoom levels). [Note to OTHER developers: The option to alternate between static and rotating orientation on the mini-map is fantastic, and should be the new standard.]
While I appreciate same-screen drop-in multiplayer, why invite a friend over just to make them sit through the same boring game you're yawning through?
Skip this failed attempt at a slow attempt at making a loot&level-fest too serious for its own good, and go buy Torchlight instead.