Shorter than the original

[J4MESOX4D]

Replayed both games this week for the first time in around two decades and it's been a blast! I was a bit surprised at how short the sequel was though in comparison to the original however it was barely noticeable with all the improvements and how engrossed I was in the game.

There was also a lot of trial and error-type gameplay with having to reload in the first game as it was far less forgiving at times and that no doubt contributed to the extended time count. I clocked in the first in around 8 hours and the second in about 5 so it's still quite a big difference but it didn't feel like it.

[Jinn-Gon Qui]

I've been playing both games for nearly 20 years now, and I can say for sure, that the sequel is rather a bit shorter. The fact that the bullet time mechanics improved is a factor to that; sweeping through enemies faster with the bullet time control.

[Bankai9212]

Well that's because there is no adaptive difficulty. Also bullet time is just OP in 2.

[UmbralPenumbra]

The controls are less finicky and the slow-mo mechanic and Max's movement are more refined

The game would've taken just as long on a first run—including all the times you screw up and have to retry—as MP1 if that weren't the case

What they did was change the main game mechanics but then design the game as if it were still using MP1 mechanics

Though personally in my case I got more playtime from MP2 because I spent so much time reloading parts just to marvel at the ragdoll physics. Maybe they were banking on people doing that to pad out the playtime

[Dethlane]

WAY less difficult encounters, no shotguns and rocket launchers, plus some chapters are shooting-free. It's easier to finish MP2 on "dead on arrival" than it is to do MP1 on "detective" (or whatever easy difficulty is called).

[Jinn-Gon Qui]

Originally posted by Dethlane:

WAY less difficult encounters, no shotguns and rocket launchers, plus some chapters are shooting-free. It's easier to finish MP2 on "dead on arrival" than it is to do MP1 on "detective" (or whatever easy difficulty is called).

Dead on Arrival in MP1 as well.

[RetroTam]

I've played and finished the original about 15 times, since it was released but i've only ever finished the second one, once. Doing the second one again recently and enjoying it a lot more this time, than back then. Back then i felt the story was too short, the Max Payne character actor wasn't as cool and i prefered the first.
Now, i appretiate the second one a lot more. Massive improvement in the quality of the game in everything from the TV shows, showing, to the graphics and physics.