What exactly is Mass Effect 1's gameplay like?

[Hashime]

I quite likes the combat in ME1. There was less pressure from ammo supplies so you could address a situation as you saw fit. Plus Sniping on ME1 was harder, which I enjoyed as there was challenge.

I also much preferred the story and item systems.

If by harder you mean "Spam Assassination", without it your Sniper did a pitiful amount of damage.

I do agree that the lack of ammo made it more fun, as it added more variables when considering weapon upgrades and cooldowns. I also preferred the inventory in that there was one, and there was more then one upgrade for your weapon

True, but when you did hit with assassin, damn.
Also, best sniper setup- Kinetic Coil + Cryo Ammo 7.

 

[sheogoraththemad]

I played ME1 on the xbox and didn't found any big combat issues.

 

[Blondi3]

Amazing story, great characters, awesome game overall. It was a bit too easy (played it 3 times unlocking and playing on hardest possible difficulties each time) but otherwise it was great. There are some annoying clunky things about combat/movement that got polished in ME2 but as a game overall the first one is better.

 

[Jormala]

ME2 on PC is broken by default, the mouse sensitivity is waaaay too high and there is mouse smoothing. Motion blur and depth of field are also on by default, and they suck.

And the whole time you are playing, your screen is full of annoying help messages and useless messages about achievements and whatnot.

I don't understand why no-one else seems to notice such faults.

 

[Iwana Humpalot]

really clunky controls, snipers get bum fucked, story was....well I could only play to about halfway before I had to stop.

This, i personally would avoid playing it if i were you. I played it to about the middle of the game and from that point on i had to force myself to finish it. (Same goes for one of my friends), i hate to say this but, you should just check the ME1's story online and the proceed straight to ME2. (ME2 is awesome compared to the first one)

 

[Halo Fanboy]

I like Mass Effect 1 better but I'd have to play both games again to really detail my reasoning (and neither of them are worth playing any more.)

Mass Effect felt a lot more unique and quirky, biotics and squad commanding played a bigger role from what I remember. The customization options were a lot more depthful. Enemies wer more unique when they were casting status ailments on you rather than using standard attacks. Mass effect 2 feels very much like a standard subpar TPS, I don't even feel like clearing it.