User blog comment:Bluegear93/Mass Effect or Mass Effect 2 ?/@comment-774818-20100821220538

I'll admit that the inventory system was nice, but eventually it got to the point where it was just in the way. Most notably towards the end of the game when I wasn't getting a lot of levels and I already had the best of the best equipment. I had enough omni-gel to probably ensure that I never had to deal with a mini-game again, I had level X Spectre master gear all weapons on all squadmates and the best armor I could scrounge up, it basically became more of a hassle to deal with the loot than an intriguing aspect.

I know I'm in a minority when I say this, but I kind of liked the Mako. Granted, there were times when it drove (no pun intended) me nuts (like trying to find one little piece of land so I could drive up a mountain), but it was fun overall.

However, if I recall, ME1 had few more talking missions of just figuring things out without your guns than ME2 did (most notably the background mission), and that's something I like. (One of the reasons I liked NWN over DA:O)

I enjoyed Overlord and Firewalker quite a bit. The Hammerhead was a lot of fun and I do hope future DLC includes more with the Hammerhead.

Despite this, ME2 has some things that definitely set it above its predecessor. Notably, the squad AI is WAAAAAY better. I think in ME1 I ended up doing most of the work and I would see on more than one occasion a squadmate just sitting there, shooting a wall which at further examination was actually a direct line between the squadmate and an enemy. Squadmates in ME2 are MUCH better.

Also, ME1 seemed more like a simple point and shoot to me. The stuff from leveling up wasn't nearly as involved. I don't think I've done a single mission where I haven't dropped an incinerate, a geth shield boost or a tactical cloak. I'm constantly using them. Even in normal fire fights against inconsequential Blue Suns Troopers. In ME1 I just broke out my pistol and shot everything that moved. Maybe I'd use a Marksmen or Assassination against tougher enemies or large collections of enemies, but it wasn't that demanding. Maybe it would have been more demanding if I had been like an Adept or an Engineer, but neither of them really appealed to me that much.

I agree with the above that ME2 has more varied missions with a larger array of options. It seemed almost impossible to screw something up major in ME1, but what happens when you drop the evidence exonerating Tali, but implicating her father? Tali ain't loyal. Ever.

Overall? ME2 all the way. I've ran through ME2 multiple times, I've gone through ME1 twice. Although I have a higher chance of going through ME1 now with a different Shepard, seeing as how I just finished an ME2 run through that was flawless: every upgrade researched, every squad member loyal, every squad member surviving, nice high paragon score (wish I could have had a FEW more renegade, I wanted SOME of the scarring to remain, but whatever), hell, I even managed to get everyone loyal BEFORE the suicide mission, still managed to bring Legion along to Tali's loyalty AND get all the surviving crew. The reaper IFF wasn't ready until I had done all the loyalty missions.

Anywho, while there are a few things in ME1 that I do miss, ME2 was on the whole better. I don't think ME2 lost ALL of the RPG aspect. In fact, I think it's still quite central, just not nearly as central as it was. Just because it doesn't have 50,000,000 shops each selling 50,000,000 items doesn't mean it's not an RPG. I think ME2 has too much storyline running around on the surface, too much character development and too many diverse paths for the player to choose from to not be called an RPG. The game isn't Borderlands, which has virtually no plot and a story that is so peripheral it might as well not even exist.