User blog comment:StagedDom19/Missing the Main Problem/@comment-4085370-20120710054824

I think they mostly did this so the people who picked up the game later on in the series wouldn't get effed over...I started with ME2, and I was glad that I could still have a comparable game experience to those who started with ME1. Now, I recently got a hold of ME1, and I am glad that I can get everything.

One thing: Saving the Rachni Queen in ME1 is kind of important. She can become a War Asset in the 3rd one with minimal loss to Aralakh Company. If Shepard takes the new Rachni Queen, she eventually takes away the rachni war asset and does some damage on the way out.

I agree. ME1 was the most open of the three games in terms of conversation, and though I hated the combat starting out, it was an amazing game because of that. But think of it this way: it's the beginning of the story. Theoretically, this is the optimal time to lay the groundwork for consequences. As the story develops, it has to culminate to a single point (destruction of the Reapers, because that's what we've been fighting for), and there shouldn't be a huge number of ways that this could go, and I believe the new DLC has given enough differentiation to your decisions.

However, refer to my first paragraph. I stick by that statement more than the above.