I never played the first game so I won't compare it from that.
This game is a lot of fun. I have played it to the very end doing as much side missions as I can find. I loved the aspect of picking how you can do a mission with sneaking, busting heads with all kinds of fire power, or use your toys to disable enemies. A lot of it is really fun that lets the person play the way they want. It is a bit of an open world that has a lot to offer with sight seeing, special spots, and wonderful street art. It is worth getting so you can enjoy the good bits it has to offer you.
However the world map is a bit small with a lot of it being Ocean (only one mission I have seen that sets in the ocean). The final mission left me dull and wanting for more. Feels like there is too much PvP aspect in it with the overall game play. Sometimes it just feels like a punishment to play certain parts like climbing buildings (trying to figure out how to get on top of it) and hacking puzzles that just make you angry.
The biggest issue I have was the final mission, everything else I had fun and/or can stand until it was over. In the final mission they take away your character and have you play as two of the dedsec members. This means that the way I have been playing it is now in the trash and I have to learn how to play the game another way on the hardest modes. All the skills and tools I have gathered over the game play cannot be used during this part and it made me wonder why I spent so many hours building up my character the way I want to play it. Then with the story it just felt, empty. Yeah you take down the bad company and the guy with it but it didn't felt like I did anything too great to get to that point. Kind of feels like it was a short ending and they just cut the game in half.
Now I still give this game a pretty good score because I did had lots of fun over all the missions and side missions. I loved the characters and how they react with each other. I am sure there are better reviews about how good and bad this game is, but I just feel cheated out on the ending of the game.