Would you recommend Borderlands 2 to someone who played the first game, but didn't really have any desire to play the expansions? Is there enough new content or is it more like a really big expansion pack?
as of late I've been addicted to LoL and Remnant Knights, also play Minecraft when I just want to mess around.
It depends on what you liked about the first game. Most of the complaints I've seen have been that they didn't make it enough like the first one especially in regards to classes. If you were really attached to one specific class or character than you may not be happy with what's in Borderlands 2 since they've all changed. But it sounds to me like you're looking for something new and so I think you'll be happy with it right from the start since you'll be picking an all new character to play as. But really the game has done very well among media and fans alike (except for that one bizarre Wall Street Journal review which has since been revised).
The only returning class (in name) is the Siren which plays much differently from the Siren of the original Borderlands, I did a little write up about that in particular on the
front page. The Commando resembles the Soldier class, however the turret has been upgraded to new levels of awesomeness. As for other changes, there is a new vehicle, character and vehicle customizations, a new and better developed plot line with tons of added humor, and a whole host of new creatures and enemies unlike anything in the first game (especially if you never played the expansions). The skill trees and class mods for each character can be adjusted for solo or cooperative players, though I will always recommend co-op for Borderlands games
So yes, I think they have added enough to it to be able to recommend it to anyone who liked Borderlands 1 and also kept enough the same so that anyone who played the first one will be immediately familiar with what's going on.