Kotor has to have elements of 1 and 2 . It has to have the atmosphere, feeling,and attachement to the characters that 1 had. But the depth and the intelligence of 2.
Kotor 2's faults to me were :
1. Peragus station was too plain and empty. People tend to remember the beginning and end of a game more than the middle, and the beginning was too lonely , the gamer feels secluded and uninvolved. The grey gives a cold feeling and the lack of interaction adds to this, the beginning is not a part of the game i'd like to replay, and is not really memorable.
Also to follow up on the beginning/end thing, most of the fun of kotor 2 was in the middle, so the most memorable bits were at the parts people won't REALLY remember.
2. Initial story was a bit too much like Kotor 1 , guy forgets himself,the force, etc. Some parallels between exile and revan, and a bit of a "yea yea" feeling to the back story.
3. Didn't feel epic, it wasn't really that detailed, it felt short and shallow in some areas particularly in terms of side characters. Story was rushed, not enough time spent in some areas, it felt like everything was happening too fast. The pace didn't really suit the story, should have been a bit slower in some areas and a bit faster in other areas. I understand this isn't so much Obsidian's fault as much as it is Lucasarts' fault.
4. Characters were given a chance to blossom , not enough depth, felt peripheral. I loved Kotor 1 since I felt I had people with me while fighting, I wanted Carth and Bastila in my group, I wanted to know more about them. In Kotor 2 the team mates are more of a means to an end, even Kreia seemed distant and shallow. She is supposed to be somewhat distant I guess but because the other characters weren't really close to me I didn't notice, had the other characters been more explored then Kreia's distance would have been more clear. Less characters would be good, more backstory , less alternation between characters: the game forces you to play with some chars and thats good but if I play with one group for a bit and another for more it gets tedious and I don't really care about one group. Since , again , they are a way to get back to playing my char.
5. Not enough of the main character. For a few parts of the game you're not playing the main char, though it may seem to be a good idea it can be frustrating if you didn't focus on the side chars. It also meant that I sort of rushed through the side adventures with the other chars because I just wanted to get back to my character.
6. There is an element of disillusion I guess. There is no good and bad in Kotor 2, you can do a good thing and lose influence. While its adds to the realism to me it seemed like a punishment. This lack of good and bad adds depth to the story, but may irritate the players who except "another star wars game" that want the game to be black and white alone. I'm not complaining though , I liked that things weren't as simple as they seemed and that the world wasn't monochromatic.
The good things (to name a few):
1. Great story
2. Food for thought. Its not a dumb game, there is alot of levels to it.
3. More involved, things aren't as simple as they appear to be.