Taris was infinetly greater (>>>...~) than the Peragus Mining Facility
KotOR >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> KotOR II
Now, KotOR II wasn't a bad game at all, but it certainly did NOT match up to KotOR... The soundtrack was good, but not nearly as epic or intense, brilliant, and amazing as KotOR's, the character development was way underdone and no where near as impressive as KotOR's, and the KotOR II sidequests were far and inbetween, and the few sidequests they did offer where very underdeveloped, and no where near as interesting, involving, or as fun as the ones in KotOR.
Add to that that the introduction world (Peragus) was a pain. The story behind it was kind of cool, but it was really, like most of the game, underdone, and there was a lot of stuff that they could have filled the gap with, and very much so a large contrast to Taris, which again, in my opinion, was very well done and had a lot going on, and was a very fun planet.
And, as all KotOR II bashing threads end up doing, the ending was completely horrible. Once you get to the Jedi Enclave, everything else is rushed and it literally forces you through the rest of the game, with no choice on your part for as to what you do, and the ending, in addition to being rushed, had little to no substance and virtually no closure, although some could be obtained from talking to the final boss before killing her.
I just pray the KotOR II Restoration Project and the M4-78 side project goes well and does to this game what I hope it can do, and can make it at least stand up to KotOR, and be otherwise a much more enjoyable experience.