A much better, more fluid and refined experience.
The Story: Wargame is about a hypothetical war that occurs between NATO and PACT forces. This war is what the devs imagine would happen if the Cold War had not ended. In Airland Battle the story is fairly bare bones. You dont really get much narration aside from text and images and this differs from Wargame EEs rather involved voice work and animated portrayal of the wars progression.
Gameplay: This is where Airland Battle really shines. The sequel is far more fluid than the first game. Units respond more immediately, battle is more realisitic and there is far less spam and more tactics than before. Units also feel more valuable and effective. As the game will tell you - there are 750+ units in the game and it shows. Its spectacular and jaw dropping to say the least.
The game is also more forgiving. You still have to capture sectors of a map, you still have the ability to call in units from off map, and you still have a recharging pool of points to dedicate towards summoning units but its all faster. Overall the game is more fast paced and you are encouraged to use different tactics to destroy your enemies.
You still have to scout, you still have to use you units wisely but now you have more options too. The most apparent addition to the Wargame series is JETS. Jets are essential and a joy to use. You call them in from off map as well and can also be directed while flying around. Its really nice and a welcome surprise.
Last on the gameplay is the multiplayer. I didnt touch the multiplayer in Wargame EE because it was so insanely difficult to unlock units. In Airland Battle they take away that problem entirely and unlock everything from the beginning. Its great. Now, dont get me wrong, that doesnt mean theres no challenge to the game, no, there most certainly is but the focus now is more on tactics and smart unit selection. This is another reason why the game is so much better and more fluid.
You also cant beat the fact that there is virtually NO LAG during the massive 10v10 multiplayer matches. It still blows my mind. You just connect and play and lord is it a wonderful thing to see.
Presentation: This game is ridiculous for an RTS. The amount of detail almost doesnt make sense. You can zoom all the way out to view the entire map and beyond or zoom all the way down to a single tank as if you're in a third person shooter. Its nuts. The models are extremely good and they also did a great job with the special effects. Explosions are great and all units have a distinct weight to them. Jets feel like they are tearing through the sky and tanks and APCs feel heavy as they run down and jump over obstacles. I love seeing a vehicles suspension heave as it rounds a corner or goes over a bump. Its seriously a good looking game and looks even better with SweetFX in play.
Conclusion: All in all its a freaking great game. I owned the first and Im glad I bought the second. I know some may be jaded by what seems like a small addition of content but in reality it completely changes the game and its better now. Dont forget that this dev is one of the few that still give out free DLC. They gave out 4 last time around and one of them was another campaign. You cant beat that and they need your support.