Samuel Bloom said:
Still, I'm a little sad at absence of the accuracy-leveling from the first game. I still remember Eden Prime, and how my assault rifle couldn't shoot straight and the sniper rifle could only be less stable if you were lying on a water bed that happened to be in the ocean. During a tsunami.
But that made absolutely no sense. That's why they removed it. You're an elite N7 operative with the highest levels of training the Alliance military can provide. I'd THINK they could teach someone to hold their gun a little steadier than a guy having a siezure.
OT: I liked the second one better. ME1 definitely had points in its favor, such as a more interesting antagonist, as well as the main plot being more of a mystery then you knowing exactly what you're working towards from the beginning. But ME2 just had a lot more to offer for me. The streamlined points system, lack of gun/persuasion skills, and much more tactical combat gameplay wise. As well as getting rid of unavoidable instant kills. Tell me it wasn't frustrating having the Thresher Maw burst up under the Mako and oneshot you. Or rockets exploding you THROUGH cover.
Story wise, I felt the characters were much deeper in the second one in MOST cases. Your crew members had much more to say, with much more in-mission input as well as on-ship dialogue. The personal missions for each character went far beyond "grab my armor". Many of them were very emotional and thought-provoking experiences (I'm looking at you Tali and Mordin). In 1 your crewmates felt very dull and flat. Especially Garrus. I don't know why he had such a following, he barely had ANYTHING to say. When 2 rolled around though he became my favorite squadmate by FAR though.
In side missions, I felt the ones in 2 were miles ahead. Each mission had a unique introduction and feeling of importance. Conversely in 1, the side missions felt like "go to generic base A, kill everyone, maybe persuade/kill one important guy, done". They all felt very rushed and trivial, like it wouldn't really have any impact on anything. And in most cases, it didn't. The environments were very copy-paste in 1, I can think of maybe 3 different types of base on side missions, and only 1 type of ship. The landing on planets COULD have helped immersion greatly if the planets didn't feel so... lifeless. I mean obviously a volcanic planet is going to have no life on it, but it could feel more vibrant. More... volcanic. Lava flows and explosions and such. As it was, every planet just felt like a recolor.
The main-hub environments were also far better designed in 2 as well. The aesthetics of the Zakera Ward could have used some work, but the random conversations people would have as opposed to just standing around being little more than statues made them feel much more vibrant and believable. Almost every character you speak to has far better quality voice acting and dialogue, such that they feel like a real person with a real personality rather than just saying what's needed in dull tones to advance the conversation.
All in all, I believe 2 was much better polished and created. The main plot could have used a bit of work for sure, but in the face of all those advantages, I'd still rather play it 20 times over ME1.