Better Gift: Virtual Villagers 1 or 2?

I'm going to get Virtual Villagers for a friend, but I'm not sure which version to get. Is VV 2 significantly improved over 1? Will it ruin some of the surprises if they really like it and want to go back and try 1? It's hard to figure this out by the demo. I'm inclined to pick up 2 for them, but I'm (probably unreasonably) concerned about soiling something. Any opinions?