It was decidedly more of the same, almost exactly the same.

Some difference is there, of course. The action is set in the Spring of 1945. There are a lot more witches. Yamato was inserted for no good reason. And so on and so forth. But overall, more of the same. In fact, Sakamoto and Yoshika travel to Europe when they get waylaid by Neuroi (should've gone via America).

Oh, one important change. The laugh of Saori Seto is not as annoying and ear-piercing as Saeko Chiba's.

UPDATE: Steven is being extremely charitable:

I long have had a suspicion that the director originally intended this to be two parts, but half way through production of the first series he was ordered by Gonzo to finish it in one, and that's why the ending was so strange. It's a different studio this time, but it's still the same director, and it looks like he's taking the opportunity to finish telling the story he originally intended to tell.

I am not buying it. GONZO almost always screwed endings. He is probably thinking about Vandread, but that was an exception[1]. They even blew up the ending of their money-no-object project Last Exile. This may be one fan's ignorant opinion, but their track record speaks against the theory of management interference.

[1] Actually, I hated the ending of Vandread, but not because it was a plot mash like in every other GONZO show.