Ever since the first trailer I have worried about the game. I really enjoyed the first and even the cinematics shown didn't really seem anything along the lines of the first minus a few cameos so it doesn't surprise me it's struggling.
For me the biggest draw (besides my esteem for the original) was the scale of the tech demo. The fact that you could (with minimal loading) transform what looked like a celestial skybox into navigable planets was. mind. blowing.