I know it's been a year since Mass Effect 2 came out [at least on the 360 and PC], but I still find myself going back to ME 1 to make different decisions and attempt to play differently just to see if I missed anything that can carry over into Mass Effect 2. So I guess my question is, am I just crazy? Has anyone else found themselves constantly going back to Mass Effect 1 to see if you may have missed even a minor detail that could trigger something in Mass Effect 2?

I went back to it because it was a better game.

I tried to go back and make a new character to go through both games with, but couldn't get pass the Mako missions

Went back to it recently to finish up the last few achievements I needed (Insanity playthrough and Pinnacle Station), also set up my playthrough for ME2. Should be starting ME2 soon.

I played through it 6 times so I'm pretty sick of it honestly 
 
I've done everything possible and seen every possible scenario with different classes and genders, nothing new there anymore 
 
Though I wouldn't be surprised if I played it again in a couple of years

I think I am going to pick it up this summer and start fresh with a "main" to carry through me2 for ME3

Planning a Paragon run through both games some time soon. 

I'm still playing, but only for the completionist soul within me. I'm currently getting my ass handed to me on my insanity run.

i plan on replaying it two more times to get the rest of the achievements (the squadmate ones)  and the insanity difficulty one 
        and i kind want a perfect save for me2 and me3 
         and then im gonna replay me2 and get a perfect save there

I've been trying to, but the shooter controls of the first one are so inferior that I might end up buying the PS3 version so I can use the comic to make my decisions from ME1.

" I went back to it because it was a better game. "

I went back to it because it was a better game.

Nope. But, I plan on going back after the series is over. I wanted to, as much as I possibly can, have a pure playthrough of the series. So no spoilers, no looking at guides to see what the best choice is, etc. So with that in mind, I don't want to play ME1 a second time, especially knowing some of the things that happen in ME2 with some of the alien races you encounter. I want my game and my choices to be my decision based purely on what I thought at the time. 
 
Once it is all over, I'll go back and do it the fun way :-)

"I went back to it because it was a better game. "

" I went back to it because it was a better game. "

Was Mass Effect 1 really the better game ?  Maybe you liked the story better which is a matter of taste but did you really enjoy the brain dead enemy A.I.,  the numerous vehicle sections,  the elevator rides,  and the all around jankiness better then Mass Effect 2 ? 

I played thru it twice last year - an engineer and an adept.  Great time, lots of fun, great game.  Some things about that game are so much better than ME2 it hurts a little.  Other things are a little clunky.  Worst of the bunch is the planetary terrain and the party AI.  It's hilarious when a party member stands directly behind you and dumps full auto assault rifle into your back, nonstop, like you aren't even there.  Or they get confused, jump on top of the nearest box in full view and just stand there taking it hard from all sides.

Nope.  
But I know a friend who just recently got into Mass Effect and had beaten it in a week.  His play time was somewhere around 55 hours, and he seems to be the only person that I know that actually liked mining.

I just started playing it last week and I've been trying to soak as much in now as I can because I don't see myself going back. It's a great game and I'm having fun playing it despite some of the jank, but I'm pretty sure I'm going straight to Mass Effect 2 once it's over.

Played it 5 times already, with the same class, still haven't tried the other classes, plus haven't done all the side missions, that game just doesn't get old. 

" Was Mass Effect 1 really the better game ?  Maybe you liked the story better which is a matter of taste but did you really enjoy the brain dead enemy A.I.,  the numerous vehicle sections,  the elevator rides,  and the all around jankiness better then Mass Effect 2 ?  "

I played through it 3 times right before ME2 came out.  I would play it more if I didn't have a bunch of other stuff to do.  Call me weird, but I loved the combat.

I tried, but it's just too terrible to finish. Especially when shit like this kept happening. In my experience, it's a broken, buggy mess.

Nah. I'd only ever go back if i wanted to import yet another Shepard. I've got 5 imported Shepard's in ME2 now, and I think that's were I'll call it.

Went back recently to start a new Shepard for ME3, starting from scratch. It's actually more playable than I reckoned it'd be after having finished Mass Effect 2 thrice already.

I bought Mass Effect 1 for my PC about two weeks ago. I have had it for my 360 for about two years now but I really wanted to try it on my computer.

" I'm still playing, but only for the completionist soul within me. I'm currently getting my ass handed to me on my insanity run. "

I still like doing a super playthough, where I start with a character in ME1 and then go into ME2 with the same character. 
 
Having played both the PC and Xbox 360 versions I can say that the PC version holds up way better. The Xbox version is still great though.

" Was Mass Effect 1 really the better game ?  Maybe you liked the story better which is a matter of taste but did you really enjoy the brain dead enemy A.I.,  the numerous vehicle sections,  the elevator rides,  and the all around jankiness better then Mass Effect 2 ?  "

Just recently started in on the PC version of ME 1 which I got from steam cheap during the holiday sales.  (I have completed both 1 and 2 previously on the 360)
 
 I recently bought a 27" ASUS VE278Q monitor and  At 1920x1080 res 4xAA, 16x anisotropic filtering,  and few engine tweaks the game is pretty amazing to behold once again.
 
It is a bit of system shock though starting over, because the combat just feels harder than what I was used to by the end of ME 2.  It is not quite as streamlined and is just a bit more brutal.
As far as the Mako areas go though, I still kinda like them in a sick sort of way. It all looks so great now on my PC setup you can kinda just get lost exploring despite the immense amount of time wasted while doing so... Just like I did when the game was fresh and a new experience.

It's my game of the moment as of now. Made a joke out of Insanity with a level 60 adept plus Spectre weapons and Colossus armor for Shepard and all squadmates. 
 
Which is better? I dunno. The shooting is clearly better in the second game. The conversation/cutscene camera shots and overall feel and graphical presentation is much improved. The AI is improved. The weapon and upgrade management was ridiculous in the first one. Needlessly cluttered does not equal better. There were tons of upgrades, weapons, and armor to chose from, and I ended up using only about 4 of each in the end.
 
And the Mako was terrible. Thank you for killing it, Bioware. Don't complain about side-worlds being much smaller. All you're doing in side-worlds is traversing over boring, feature-less terrain for a while, only to get to a very small facility, which is another iteration of the same 3 basic buildings (the two floor structure, the underground research facility, the underground mine, I might've forgotten one). All boardable ships are the same. So what are you really losing with smaller, but more detailed worlds that are all unique from one another in Mass 2?
 
And the glitches. Oh my god, the glitches.
 
There are a few other things about 2, though.  SPOILER (not that you should be here if you haven't played both games) 
 
The story is probably better in the first game. Collectors look NOTHING AT ALL like genetically engineered descendants of Protheans. You'd think there would be a slight resemblance. The more I think of a human Reaper, the more it bothers me. And, of course, Shepard's death and resurrection is stretching it a bit. The first one had more of an actual story and relied less on shock value as the second one did.
 
I took issue with the inventory management in the first one. I'm sorry, apologists, you don't need 10 manufactures with 10 versions of every single weapon in the game. No. But I DO think they severely simplified it to the point where If I had a gun to my head and had to pick, I would actually choose the inventory management of the first one. The lack of customization kills me. The research upgrades were a nice way to get around that but, still. I could understand if people preferred the streamlined skills management of the second game but there's something oddly satisfying in fine-tuning your Shepard and his 'mates with such detail in the first game.
 
I maxed out my adept in Mass 2 and have since built a level 60 adept in Mass 1. Comparing the two, they took the balls out of biotics. It's a shame that Mass 2 definitely feels more shooterish and less RPG in that way. Remember when we could Lift an armature off the ground? Now biotics are worthless against regular enemies with multiple layers of defense. Stupid. 
 
 I might say that 2 is still the better game. But it's not that big a difference to me as it is for others. That's the end of my ramble, I'm sorry.

" I went back to it because it was a better game. "

I'll play it, ME2, and ME3 in order after I've beaten ME3 for the first time. I still consider it the superior game storywise, but ME2 is better at basically everything else, so it's hard to go back too.

I went and played through it again on a whim, marathonning through 1 and 2. No, you're not crazy. 
 
'T was a somewhat painful process, too. I don't think Mass Effect has aged well at all. I couldn't disagree more with the people insisting it's the better game. Even if you have a personal preference for the somewhat more RPG-ish approach of inventory management and weapon and armor upgrades, the rest of the game feels so dull and tedious in comparison to the sequel. As someone who didn't mind all the Mako stuff on my original playthrough of the game, this time I was cursing my OCD tendencies because playing through every single side mission was making me want to stop playing the game entirely. Driving across barren worlds with only a few scattered, brainless enemies and some salvage hidden in the far corner of the map... such a waste of time. Of course, they made the same mistake by putting in the resource gathering mini-game in the second. That was only a touch less annoying.

Went back to it to finish my renegade playthrough just recently after trying to start ME2 again. Man I wish there was a save file crafter so I could properly replicate my 360 ME1 run on PC for import into ME2. Yeah I know of masseffectsaves.com, but none of those are close enough to either of my playthroughs.

Beat it 4 times, I'm done.

ME1 Story > ME2 Story

After I get a decent amount of achievements with my Adept, I'll probably end up doing a flat-out Paragon run and then full Renegade.  Then play the game in that gray area, having fun with it while using the Lorik Quin glitch to run up both Red and Blue actions and import all of them to ME2. After that, I'll be done with ME1 for a very very long time.

" I tried to go back and make a new character to go through both games with, but couldn't get pass the Mako missions "

I bought Mass Effect 1 for my PC about three weeks ago and have been playing it non-stop. I already own it on my 360.

" I think I am going to pick it up this summer and start fresh with a "main" to carry through me2 for ME3 "

" I tried, but it's just too terrible to finish. Especially when shit like this kept happening. In my experience, it's a broken, buggy mess. "

I've been slowly working through a second playthrough lately because I wanted to see what the Renegade path was like for myself instead of just downloading a Renegade save and loading it in ME2. It's still a great game and the Mako missions are actually pretty satisfying in a "to-do-list" kind of way. I can't help but do them even though I know that whatever bonus having a high-level Shepard save gives in ME2, it'll be largely unnoticeable.