and found it severely lacking. maybe seeing you guys hype the heck out of it made me expect way too much, but still. 
funny enough I downloaded the game (illegally of course) when it was new and managed to play a bit through Citadel and...i was amazed. i was ready to declare it the best game ever.  so naturally i bought it now that i have access to a good pc too and it was sooo underwhelming. 
 
i really don't understand. the first level (i forgot the name of the planet) was awesome. the action focused and throttled just enough to make your heart pound, but not too extreme on that. and the crazy universe they built and bla >_<
 
after you leave citadel the variety seems to take a nose dive and doesn't ever wanna come back. i enjoyed the game, sure. it was great. but not as awesome as i expected :/
 
PS: the topic title being similar to another recent ME topic is purely intentional. i've been thinking of starting this topic for a while now and thought that having two contrasting topics on the same subject might be a good idea

 PS: the topic title being similar to another recent ME topic is purely intentional. i've been thinking of starting this topic for a while now and thought that having two contrasting topics on the same subject might be a good idea    

Well... the first missions plays like it does because it is setting up the action and the plot of the following story, so it's a little bit more... structured and less talky? I think of it more like a detective tale regarding the other planets, especially Noveria. You're not there to shoot up a bunch of shit and leave, you're there to explore, talk to people, figure out what's going on and then shoot up a bunch of shit, (if you choose to go that route). The game portion of Mass Effect isn't what drew me in, though I do find it at least a bit more than competent. The draw to Mass Effect is the story, characters and the locales. 
 
I don't know how you didn't find some of the set pieces in Mass Effect to be engaging and awe-inspiring. The encounter with Saren on Virmire, plunging out of the window on a devastated Citadel station and walk on it SIDEWAYS. There's a lot of amazing stuff in Mass Effect.