i'll be honest, i've pretty much never played the first game, only the second one (got S on all the normal levels and 14/25 of hard mode levels)
the fans are the best characters, pardo sucks (the character is great tho, it's just a biased opinion)
richter is a cool dude, evan is probably a bit relatable to adults, beard is the man and son is badass
the soundtrack is godly, i love untitled, around, remorse (i have it as my ringtone), run, in the face of evil, hm theme and sexualizer
from the first game i really like its safe now, flatline, miami disco and deep cover