It does both new and old things well, just not quite as good.
The humour in the game is not the subtle absurdity as in the first, and so not as entertaining for me.
The levels are still large and flowing, and although linear gives a nice combination of claustrophobia and wide open spaces.
The big bad bosses are still very big, and a little badder than before.
The biggest change is one of the best new features, and one of the worst. Instead of being limited to playing only as Kurt (the chain gun sniper rifle totin' hero of MDK) to also get to play as his robot dog Max, and the genius professor. Playing as Max is pretty fun. He carries around multiple types of fire arms, including hand guns, shot guns, and automatic rifles. The fun part is that you can be wielding up to 4 at a time in whatever combination you see fit.
Then there's the levels with the Professor. These levels are more of a puzzle style platformer. You find various items around the space station he's on and combine them to build weapons and gadgets. That's kind of fun. But the levels got tiresome for me fairly quickly. I play MDK for the fast paced action, not this. And again, although Max's level are fun, I want more Kurt.
Overall the action does pay off, and makes the game lots of fun! Although not matching all the style an uniqueness of the original, it's a worthwhile sequel.