I think the first one had better story moments and armor/weapon customization but everything that was off in ME1 was fixed in 2:
 
better pacing
faster combat
less cumbersome inventory (albeit supremely simplified)
graphics and performance
Tali as a romance option (finally!)
 
but I will agree the story is just not there in this one.

I really question people who actually think the story in ME1 was all that amazing. I found it super cheesy and narratively awkward in dialogue and characters. I will admit that ME1 does at least have a solid plot structure that ME2 doesn't. But ME2 makes up for that in superior characters, dialogue, and quest stories.

Call me crazy, but I like the game. I don't give two shits if it
has an advanced storyline.  One of my hobbies is studying Space
Opera.  I like ME's aliens, the technology, the sterile future world,
the electronica, plus the extremely long time it takes to complete
the game, replayability & the interacton.   It's a game, it's not Star 
Wars & I hate Return of the Jedi (all Ewoks must burn!).
 
Considering the vast differences between ME1 & ME2, I expect
that if they pour in double or triple the amount of money it took to
build ME2, then it stands to reason that ME3 will be an opus. They
could hire some expensive Japanese game developers to put in their
two bits. Will it's story be as good?  I don't fuckin' care.  I'm gonna buy 
the Collector's edition & play the shit out of it.
 
ME1's ending reminded me of Classic Space Opera.  ME2 reminded
me of something you would read in a Heavy Metal magazine.  ME3?
Man who is to say.  I'm guessing some giant space creature like
Star Trek's Doomsday Machine!
 

" I really question people who actually think the story in ME1 was all that amazing.   

Great, another internet argument about which game in the series was the superior.
 
To me, this is how I see it: 
 
Mass Effect had better... 

• Plot
• Villains
• Role-playing elements
• Exploration
• Ending
• Music
• Pacing

• Combat
• Polish
• Voice acting
• Writing
• Characters
• Art design
• Interface

" @GhostlyEnigma: The writing was so good, that they decided to only write characters, and not actual story moments. "

" I think the first one had better story moments and armor/weapon customization but everything that was off in ME1 was fixed in 2:  
better pacing 
faster combat 
less cumbersome inventory (albeit supremely simplified) 
graphics and performance 
Tali as a romance option (finally!)  
 
but I will agree the story is just not there in this one. "

" Awesome story revelations in ME2: *  The Reapers have fixated on Shepard as he is the only being to have thwarted their plans in millions of years.*  The Reapers had twisted what remained of the Prothiens into their slaves. *  Cerberus has been behind more than it seemed (eg :the construction of the first Normandy) *  The Reapers harvest the galaxy every fifty thousand years because they construct their own kind from the liquified remains of the higher organic lifeforms that have evolved over that time. *  The Quarians are on the verge of war with the Geth. *  The Geth from Mass Effect 1 were just a splinter group of that race. *  The true Geth simply want to exist in peace.   *  Someone is using Dark Matter technology to damage stars (Tali's mission when you collect her,and  the undercover agent's next mission after Illium).*  The Reapers hold humanity up as the greatest threat in the galaxy (greater than the Asari, Turians, Krogan... ect), hence their plan to recreate themselves in the Earthlings image.  And finally *  You can't keep a good Spectre down.   Cue the third game. "

Mass Effect 2, in my opinion, was far, far better than the first. I love story in games as much as the next guy, but gameplay always comes first for me. Also ME2 is all about interacting with the characters, doing their side missions. When you break down a story to bullet points like that, it makes any game sound shitty. ME2's side quests, the stuff that isn't in the main story, is what makes it. Same with games like Fallout 3. Fallout 3 had such an awesome universe out there for you to find, it didn't force it down your throat.

" @fistfulofmetal said:

" I really question people who actually think the story in ME1 was all that amazing.   

I have no idea what you mean by "questioning" people who like the story of ME1. Are you saying they don't know what they are talking about? 
 
@Lind_L_Taylor: I'm sorry (sarcasm) that I have higher aspirations for games as medium than you do.  "

" @Lind_L_Taylor: I'm setting myself up for disappointment? What are you talking about? The original Mass Effect set me up for disappointment. Believe me, if the story in ME1 was on the same level as ME2, I would not be saying anything. But the story in ME1 was that good. "

" @Jayross said:

" @Lind_L_Taylor: I'm setting myself up for disappointment? What are you talking about? The original Mass Effect set me up for disappointment. Believe me, if the story in ME1 was on the same level as ME2, I would not be saying anything. But the story in ME1 was that good. "

It means you're gonna expect  too much & end up being disappointed in ME3. I liked both games equally, although ME1 felt more like a game than a story. "

" @Lind_L_Taylor said:

" @Jayross said:

" @Lind_L_Taylor: I'm setting myself up for disappointment? What are you talking about? The original Mass Effect set me up for disappointment. Believe me, if the story in ME1 was on the same level as ME2, I would not be saying anything. But the story in ME1 was that good. "

It means you're gonna expect  too much & end up being disappointed in ME3. I liked both games equally, although ME1 felt more like a game than a story. "

No, there is no way I can be disappointed by ME3 after ME2. Inconceivable. "

The one thing really I want in ME3 that's not in ME2 (and to some extent ME1) is LOOT. I really enjoyed opening boxes in ME1 to get random guns and weapon mods. I would like to be able to loot bodies and stuff.

I replayed ME2, this is what I have to say:

Yep.

Sigh, the more I think about ME2 the less I like it in comparison to ME1 D:
 
ME1 was great, but maybe a bit rough around the edges; ME2 however, didn't address many of these issues, instead they seemed to just remove a lot of the interesting (yet flawed) aspects of the original. Example; the Mako was clunky, but planetary exploration was great. They didn't try to improve this, instead they added planet scanning, which was a mild form of torture.
 
I could go on, but I can't be bothered ranting any more about Mass Effect =(

ME2 is less about the overarching story, but it's still about story; the shorter stories of the characters.

The advantage of ME2's structure is that they can pace the game much more, in ME1 you could do the planets in any order but the planets were all supposed to further the narrative. That structure made the story feel disjointed in ME1, at least I think so.

I agree with your points on why ME3 will be the best. Its like in movies the middle of the trilogy always gets shafted storywise. I dont think mass effect was disappointing though.

My only problem with ME2's story was that it had no clear villain.
Sarren was an awesome, interesting, threatening villain. The story revolved around him, but also created a huge mystery plot involving the reapers. 
ME2's villains is more of a presence, which can work in some instances, but there's no real confrontation at the end of ME2. Just some big robot dude.

Well the problam about the story of the first Mass Effect was it was ridiculous how similar some elements of the story were to Biowares other RPG The old repuplic. I'l tell you what I mean. In the Old republic You create your character and stand infront of a Council (Jedi) and ask to become a Jedi,its the same  in Mass Effact, you stand infront of a council and ask to become a spectar, then in both games you need to hunt down a person how was once a spectar or jedi but has betrayed the council, then choosing what planet to go to from a map of the planets.

Dies anyone feel that ME2 had very little decisions to make? I can't really remember anything significant except the computer program thing and the radiate/destroy option.

Implying that they will stop at 3 and won't milked it to death. Yeah...

Great post!  ME1 had me by the balls (story-wise), but ME2 was more enjoyable as a whole (in my opinion).

The Official Xbox Magazine actually criticized ME2 for having a weak story. That is the only review that even mentioned that.

Also, the lead writer of Bad Company 2 believes that the story in ME2 wasn't that great.

 Oh noes, a lot of ships be attacking teh universe!  
 
Especially on that point I thing you underestimate what it means. Think about it: Playing ME1 and ME2, in each game there was a single Reaper. And even those two Reapers caused massive chaos bringing in Galaxy (ME1) and Humanity (ME2) on the brink of destruction.  
 
Now jump to the end of ME2 when you can see a massive fleet of Reapers entering citadel space. Think about it. If only two Reapers cause that much chaos, how is it possible to defeat a whole fleet of them? ... That what made me go "oh sh*t" when I saw those 10 seconds. 

Good post!

Alright, I'm calling it now: Mass Effect 2 for Giant Bomb GOTY 2010.

Unfortunately.

"Alright, I'm calling it now: Mass Effect 2 for Giant Bomb GOTY 2010.Unfortunately. "

lol...u nuts?....me1 better then m2 ???? :/.......i loved both of them ...but ME2 was EPIC

I don't know if it counts as part of the story but going from ME to ME 2 I was most dissapointed in how little the Mass Effect setting and universe were developed. Excluding books, we still have only seen one gender of every race except for the humans and the Quarians (though some races have fitting explanations), the only home world we've been to is Tuchanka, we haven't met any leaders except for the Council, Wrex and the Quarian leaders, and the places we actually get to visit have such little space to explore that they're hardly worth visiting except for the missions. The original Mass Effect introduced one of the most interesting universes in the history of gaming (imo) and I just think it's a shame that we get to explore so little of it.

ME2 had much less to do with moving the central story forward for sure, but are you forgetting all the amazing characters introduced? That is how I view ME2, as a character piece more than anything. It serves to make the story much more intimate whilst fleshing out the universe and building tension. I have a hard time considering it a disappointment, but in the end it's all up to personal taste, eh?

Anyone listen to the recent podcast? They spoke a little about the weaknesses of ME2's story.

I'm glad I'm not crazy.

The structure of ME2 was to embrace the sqaudmates more then shepards story. Sure it was different but it was as good in my oppinion

I actually liked Mass Effect 2's style of story better, as it felt like a series of self contained events, and made it feel more like a bitchin' sci-fi TV show, and less like a movie. 

@Jayross: You're dumbing down the plot of Mass Effect 2 to try and make your point. I can't abide that. 
  
Let me use the same respect you give ME1 and apply it to ME2, like you should have done in the opening post.  

 
This game's story is getting a bum rap because it focuses much more heavily on the characters and their stories this time round, so the main story does get overshadowed. 
 
It's not because it's a bad main story, or even that it's lacking. It's because the character subplot's are so exceptional and varied compared to the first game.    

UPDATE: Okay, I was wrong about the whole "Mass Effect 3 will be amazing" thing. Whops!

@Jayross said:

UPDATE: Okay, I was wrong about the whole "Mass Effect 3 will be amazing" thing. Whops!

Haha, I don't think anyone would have noticed if you hadn't bumped it yourself!