Well, both games have strong aspects, but i honestly found witcher 2 lacking, terribly, on the long run. It getting a new engine, and game systems, is praiseworthy. But lacking content, things and options that were available in the previous title, is downright disappointing. I understand that most new changes that "restrict" the player were made for "balance", but oh god, how much i hate balance...
1) Way too little enemy types. Previous title boasted a huge bestiary, with some monsters being a variety, or branching species from others. Some people might find that repetitive, unoriginal or boring, but quantity does have its usefulness on the long run. You understand its necessity only when you miss it.
2) There is no way to understand if a book you see at a merchant' s or in your inventory, has already been read. A displayed message like "You have already read this book" should not be that hard to come by, and i am still wondering, why did they have to omit something so simple, yet useful and bright. How the hell are we supposed to distinguish read from unread, without wasting our entire purse on buying and rebuying the same stuff over and over again?
3) Dampened and watered down alchemy system. Yes, i perfectly understand this was a renovation, and with balance in mind and heart, but honestly, compared to the witcher 1, the new alchemy system is a real pain in the... back. Why did they have to ruin it? In 1, alchemy was really clever, deep and sophisticated. Albedo, nigredo and rubedo produced some really interesting combinations and effects. Albedo allowed you to consume more potions, before toxicity kicked in, which is also absent; now it serves only as a mere indicator of the limit of potions you are allowed to consume, no funny effects whatsoever. What was so repelling, of being able to drink 4-5 potions and then proceed to cut down anything that moved? Also, more damage or vitality regeneration wasn' t bad at all, was it? Especially in combination with other potion effects. Furthermore, the fact you are now NOT allowed to drink a potion during combat, honestly sucks. Even hardcore and turn based RPGs allow you at least 1 "gulp" during battle. Yes, balance, difficulty, realism, all that jazz i do understand, but realism and games, especially fantasy, rarely mix well; plus its actually unrealistic to be unable to "gulp down" a small vial, however tough the situation. And potion side-effects, with forced and predetermined combinations to eliminate their mutual drawbacks, really? Why did they have to nerf and balance this game so much, is it an mmo or something? The formulas, too. Yes, they prevent you from cheating (since in 1 you could get a list and craft high end alchemy products from really early), but they terribly restrict you, and do not allow you to make up for recipes you were unlucky enough to miss.
4) Sex cards and geralt' s little geralt. Damn, are we fighting that hard, putting our lives on the line, just for nothing? What is the idea behind this indirect censorship? Just a topless la valette, triss in baths and elf woman in gratitude? While it is actually to your best interests to prefer other choices over sleeping with them? Sex cards were great, especially artistically. I still revisit the calendar of witcher 1, although it has expired, and wish i had one of this for real. Why so damn few encounters, and complete absence of the artistic and aesthetic side of this aspect (dandelion' s muse wakes up inside me)...? Plus, any sensible player would prefer magic resistance over triss, and entire Flotsam saved for Temeria, over that elven woman. Thank you for genuinely destroying another great, and mature, aspect of this game.
5) Group style. Where is it? Where is its invaluable side effect (mass knockdown)? Oh, i forgot, balance. Renovation. Now what? How can i make my sword hack through 20 enemies at once, like the good old days in raven's crypt? Is there a way or not?
To conclude, and to avoid misunderstandings, I found witcher 2 to be a really good game. Great graphics, great soundtrack and music, great feel, great story on par or even better than the original, but poor, poor mechanics, or poorly altered and poorly implemented old and new ones respectively. I never understood why they had to cut-down content and mechanisms, simply to put in inferior ones, or simply lacking compared to previous. I wish it had a mod for witcher 1 talents-character development, combat and alchemy, being implemented in 2.