The GameSpot reviewer did not play the original.
You are the overlord, the Majesty, "your highness". As such, you do not micromanage units, you simply create them. That is where the fun begins. From that point, you can watch your little minions go around doing what Dungeons & Dragons-type heroes do best. If you create a Ranger, the Ranger will begin exploring. If you create a Warrior, he will look for heads to bash. Create a cleric, and she will try to find another hero to heal. They all have little lives of their own.
The economy is also not something you micromanage. Instead, as your created minions begin killing monsters, tearing down monster habitats, and fulfilling obligations (i.e. explore here, kill that bad guy over there, commands which are given only by placing a flag and hoping your offered reward is suitable to encourage your heroes to fulfill these desires) - they find and earn gold. They can do whatever they want with that gold. They can go to the tavern and have a beer, they can go to the magic scroll shop and buy a new scroll that will protect them from ranged attacks, they might go upgrade their weapons at the armory. Watching the decisions your heroes make play out in the grand scheme was extremely fulfilling in the first Majesty, and it is extremely fulfilling in Majesty 2.
What has changed is the game has been stripped-down somewhat in lieu of nicer graphics. While you have a few quests which introduce you to powerful hero archetypes, like Paladins, and Priestesses, other archetype choices just show up out of nowhere. In fact, it would seem that this game, which I completed in two days flat, is missing half of its missions or something. It's too short. And while the original Majesty had a nice assortment of missions which gradually increased in difficulty and introduced you to elements of the game, Majesty 2 has a few easy, a few advanced, and a few expert missions, and that's about it. And there's no real organic progression from one batch of mission levels to the next. That said, the missions Majesty 2 delivers are fun, and each has a clever storyline accompanying it which progresses the overall plot - basically, to destroy an unwelcome self-appointed throne-sitter.
I waited years for this game and I'm not disappointed. It is basically the original Majesty in a shiny new package, which is precisely what I was hoping for. I only wish the missions were slightly more diverse and that the game wasn't so damned short. I am able to replay the scenarios and they are still fun, for now, but this isn't a game you'll repeat playing longer than a few weeks to a month. This means that expansions are going to be a must to make this a robust sim capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the other management sims out there.