I never played the first one, I wanted to, but I have no console so I am coming into this fresh and I like what I see in the beta. It looks fantastic and is buttery smooth. I am running a very old i7 with a bit of overclocking and a 760 and it set most things to medium and flowed. I know the real game might be different but first impressions are very good.
I really liked the gunplay too, yeah it could become a bit bullet spongy but there is enough kickback and style with the weapons, that I could put up with it.