The battle system in Xenosaga was boring for me because I loved the Xenogears system and wanted that sort of in-battle depth rather than the amount of stat customizers. That's just how I am.
I played through it all because of the story. That's what I will probably play through ep. 2 for. I've learned not to trust the opinions of any reviewer that doesn't share personal interests - that is, unless it's someone I consider to be a friend saying something is good or bad, I take it with a pinch of salt. That's the way episode 2 will be. I won't form opinions until I get to play it.