Soooooo Mass Effect 2 was my favorite game of 2010. I played the first ME a few years back and hated it. I'm currently playing through ME2 again and find myself wanting to play ME1 for the sake of really getting into the story. If I didn't dig ME1 three-four years ago am I still not going to like it, or if I want to know the story from the start will it be worth a play-through? 
 
Is the jump from 1 to 2 as drastic as Assassin's Creed -> Assassin's Creed 2 was? 
 
And just so you know, my complaint about the first Mass Effect is that gunplay was NOT tite. If I remember correctly, it had that RPG hit/miss type calculation when shooting. I wasn't aware of this going into it the first time and thought it'd be more of a 3rd person shooter. Going into it this time I would know not to expect a 3rd person shooter. 
 
So based off of all this, do you guys think I would enjoy it? Or am I better off taking an hour to read up on the story from Mass Effect 1 instead? 
 
Thanks in advance for you input and sorry for my unorganized thought process above.

My advice: play the 1st and 2nd Mass Effect just before the 3rd game comes out.
 
I know that's what I'm gonna do.

You should but don't expect a fun experience, the technical problems in that game just makes it hard for me to go through again.

I think you will find it a bit hard since you have already played 2 which is a lot better in many aspects, but I would still say it's worth a play.

A focused playthrough will only set you back about 8 hours. I would still do it for the save file transfer. Just be aware that it's still the same game you put down 3-4 years ago. It'll probably be even rougher coming off of ME2.

Yes it is.

"  And just so you know, my complaint about the first Mass Effect is that gunplay was NOT tite. If I remember correctly, it had that RPG hit/miss type calculation when shooting. I wasn't aware of this going into it the first time and thought it'd be more of a 3rd person shooter. "

I played the first again after playing the second and it doesn't feel that bad, at least on PC. 
 
The 360 version is awful though, I've played through it on that twice and it's just a mess, framerate is all over the place.

Saying the gunplay is great is hilarious. You make it sound like a shooter. 

YES 100% fantastic story and characters with a massive amount of side quests and planets you can explore  (though not everyone seems to appreciate that) If you have a choice however get the pc version, the graphics  and framerate are considerably better compared to the 360 version, but it will be a great experience either way.

I know right? It totally doesn't have any shooting qualities.

I finished Mass Effect about two weeks ago and then went straight into ME2, and I really enjoyed both experiences.  Besides from the major decisions there are a lot of minor events that come back as well and really added to the experience for me.  I did not have much of a problem with the first game particularly because the story was so good.  It may be worth another try since you can focus solely on the story.

I would answer no, if you didn't like it before, it is unlikely that you will now (it doesn't get better with time).  Also, ME1 and ME2 are rather different games when it comes to gameplay, if you like rpgs (and their game mechanics) or have started to like them since you first played ME1, then yeah, it would be worth another look, but if your taste in games is about the same as it was back then, then no, you shouldn't try it again. 
 
On a side note, if all that you are looking for is a re-cap, try to find a video (or just rent/borrow) of the comic that they included with ME2 on the PS3, it goes over the events of the first game. 

I really wanted to play Mass Effect 1 because I thought the story was great.  The gameplay is some of the worst I have ever encountered.  Just read online about it.

Its worth it. You can streamline the game to under 10 hours no problem, I actually fell in love with the piece of crap and am currently on my 3rd play-thru just to get to level 60. Why not? Its not THAT bad.

It's worth it for the story threads. 

Compared to ME2 you might be thinking wtf is happening in the combat the first few fights but you should adapt to it soon.
People saying they can't probably have some real life issues and probably never did anything but sleep, eat, piss and play videogames since they became able to.
 
The story is way better then ME2. its more spacey and grand, while ME2 was more structured and the overall plot predictable (but not less fun, oh no!).
Love Mass Effect? Give it a play, you can always stop if you don't like it and watch a youtube video of it.

If your complaint was the gameplay, then you probably shouldn't play it seeing as the gameplay/gunplay in that game is the worst aspect of it. 
Also, It didn't have that RPG hit miss/thing you mentioned. 

The story, dialogue, characters, and graphics all still hold up very well. The gameplay is hard to go back to after playing ME2, but if you can look pass it Mass Effect 1 is still a great game.
My suggestion is to play ME1 on the easiest difficutly. The combat becomes super simple and you can quickly get past it and back to the story and dialogue.

I played them both in order and enjoyed them both a great bit. However if you plan on going back to the original you should keep your expectations low. At least for the way the game handles. It can be quite rough at times, especially the way the shooting controls. It is not a coincidence  that most reviews mention how ME2 feels more like a 3rd person shooter. Having said that the story and the characters that you will come across are well worth looking over the small imperfections. Plus you get to more closely affect the way ME2's story plays out for you.

How could you have hated it? Anyways, yes, play it.