I played the first through the end and imported the second, but for some reason I just could not get into that one and never got very far.
I did this as well. Well, I didn't import the second but played it years later after burning the image. I don't know, I think that gaming had just advanced far enough in the time between the first and second game that a lot of the wonder of having this open world just wore off and there wasn't all that much intriguing beyond that. Like the story was still interesting, and the combat was still fun, but it was broken up by exploring the city, working jobs, and gambling for hours on end.
I'd love to say that I'd like to play through all three when they come out, because I really did enjoy the first, but I just know that I'll never make it all the way through either of the first two games now that there's so many other games out there with intriguing concepts and more advanced mechanics.