Man, ME1 is so much worse than I remember from playing it five years ago, and it's astonishing how dramatically ME2 managed to improve everything. It's a more enjoyable experience on PC, but on consoles it's simply painful, with issues including an awful framerate, frequent texture pop-in, awkward cover shooter controls, weak friendly and enemy AI, and a mess of an inventory system

That's not to say it's all bad, with certain aspects being downright impressive. Bioware sets the standard for breadth of voice acting which is even included for frivolous things like the codex, and it's all generally top-tier in quality. The writing can feel a little derivative, but a lot of the characters manage to truly shine. The ships, aliens and weapons have a fairly sleek sci-fi look, and if there's one thing ME1 did better than it's sequels, it's giving its universe an immersive feel, with a far less linear structure and nice touches like having to use the airlock to depart from the Normandy.