The gameplay is completely different between Witcher 1 and 2, so if that was the reason you couldn't play through the first Witcher it's not really an issue here. The two aren't really comparable, entirely different game engine and mechanics in regards to gameplay.
As for whether you'll like it... I don't know. That's entirely subjective. Plays more similar to a fast paced Arkham Asylum than Witcher 1 however for what little those comparisons are worth. Watch some gameplay, decide for yourself.
Story-wise what do you want to know? I thought it was great, but I also thought the story in Witcher 1 was excellent as well, even if it did have some pacing issues and other problems. The Witcher series has always been about choice and consequence in a morally ambiguous world. It regularly faces you with decisions and adjusts accordingly based on what you went with. That hasn't changed between either game, though if you didn't get far enough in the first game it's unlikely to reached the point where everything you've done starts coming back to hit you.