I'd love for 2 to be more of the same as really really enjoyed the first one. Is the story in 2 a direct follow on from the first? Can i still be a bad guy in the second one?

Direct follow? Well... more or less so. You can 'define' what happend in first game here via dialogues, though no major change if my memory serves right. Also - yes, you can be bad. That choice is always present. :)
Generally... the construction of the plot is different - I would dare to say that first game, while I really enjoyed it, was a bit cliche, while I didn't feel like that with Kotor 2. Of course it's also a matter of taste - some people enjoyed the first game more, while others prefer the second one. You still go from planet to planet, in your own order, finishing their respective plots to advanced towards the final mission... so I would say give the game a go. You shouldn't be disappointed.

That's great, thanks for your input. I recently bought the Star Wars Humble store bundle so have been considering which Star Wars game to play next. If KOTOR 2 wasn't rated as highly as the first then I might have waited a while to start it but it sounds as if I'm going to enjoy it at least equally so I think I'll jump straight in. Thanks again.

You're welcome and have fun. ;)

It's been a really long time since I played either...I played both on release...but I seem to recall that KOTOR 1 had a better story, but that KOTOR 2 improved on the UI and quality of life in several ways...but was a weaker story.

I played both ages ago, and both again recently.

IMO KOTOR 1 is MUCH better. After playing KOTOR1, then KOTOR 2, I played another character to the end in KOTOR 1. While the thought of playing KOTOR 2 again fills me with dread.

KOTOR 2 has a much longer, and more tedious Opening. I almost gave up. I also found it got more tedious near the end as well.

KOTOR 2 was also a bit rushed and unfinished in places. You can use the Fan content replacement but that can introduce other issues.

So started playing KOTOR 2 this week. I agree that the start felt a bit... I don't know how to describe it but it did feel like a bit of an effort to get off the ship but I'm still enjoying it. Seems to be a bit of humour in the dialogue this time too which I'm enjoying. Just got off the ship last night actually so I'm looking forward to see what happens next...

To answer your initial question, I absolutely love both games, and I still play them today. People's opinions will always differ, and each game is so unique in its own right, but I always cautiously rank KotOR 2 over KotOR 1. I do that because of the mythology they delve into in the game, because of how unique and fresh of an addition it was, and most importantly of all, because of Kreia. She will always be my favorite Star Wars character of all time, the only exception being Yoda himself.

I don't want to go into too many details, because I don't want to spoil anything for you since you're playing it for the first time. I just hope you've enjoyed it.

Also, please take into consideration that KotOR is broken and unfinished. LucasArts chopped six months off of the promised development time they had given to Obsidian and forced them to rush it out in time for the holiday shopping season. Because of this, a lot of content had to be cut from the game altogether or cut down considerably. That the game is playable is a triumph in itself. That it is as good as it is, and even won awards, is a testament to Obsidian! But truthfully, the blame for KotOR 2's broken and unfinished state is LucasArts', not Obsidian's.

KoTOR 2 is a far more intelligent story. KoTOR 2 deconstructs the various stereotypes of Star Wars and puts into question the entire idea of morality in Star Wars. KoTOR 1 is just a generic Star Wars trope checklist.

I think KOTOR 1 and KOTOR 2 are both great for the first playthroughs. They have different strengths. KOTOR 1 is more polished and more mainstream, while KOTOR 2 is less polished but has more intriguing characters and story.

Also the beginning of KOTOR 2 is much more tedious than beginning of KOTOR 1. KOTOR 2 really picks up after you're done with the first planet, which typically means around 5-10 hours of play...

I also have to say that KOTOR 2 has to me lower replaybale value than KOTOR 1.

KOTOR 2 is a followup to the first one, but it's such a piece of shit that you better off ignoring it. The story isn't really that bad, but the characters are annoying and it's buggy as hell.

KOTOR 2 does have a somewhat tedious start to it, although I didn't mind it as much as certain boring starts of other great games (e.g. Fallout 2).

IMO the plot is quite interesting, and the way the dark/light sides are handled is done really well - by which I mean, it's a bit of a departure from the "typical" Star Wars good/evil stuff.

I hope you're playing with TSLRCM - that mod is pretty much essential as it fixes many bugs and adds a couple of previously missing sections.

Unfortunately even that mod couldn't fix the last section(s) of the game. I won't spoil it except to say that you'll likely enjoy the ride much more than the destination...