I think the one thing I enjoyed in Mass Effect 2 was interacting with characters, but each conversation was separated by twenty minutes of TPS corridor sequences. The shooting and cover system in 1 was poor, compared to the sequels, but the sequels introduced dodgy hit boxes too.
I always found the praise Mass Effect 2 received for its tedious space exploration hilarious, especially when 1 had actual exploration on planets in a car (which, honestly speaking can get boring too but still a million times better than shooting probes into planets).
Totally. A good RPG always gives you a reason to replay it. I've played Mass Effect a couple of times, 2 only once and couldn't even be bothered to get half way through 3. [spoiler]I've heard enough about 3s ending ruining the game for people, but I thought introducing characters like Kai Leng did way more harm. Why, if the Illusive Man had a guy like Kai Leng, did he spend countless resources reviving Shepard? I mean, Kai Leng can apparently pinpoint any life form so surely he could've told the Illusive Man where to find the Reapers. Kind of makes 2s story pretty pointless.[/spoiler]
I hope so, but a lack of any gameplay footage and with under a year to go, I'm guessing they won't have time to fix any gripes fans will have. I'll be happy if the game has a decent sense of exploration and interaction.
