I loved Mass Effect 2, and I'm pretty excited for Mass Effect 3. I never played the first one though, should I? My favorite part of Mass Effect 2 was the story and I was thinking maybe I should play the first one to get the whole experience. 
 
What do you guys think?

Mass Effect 1 was very good.

I say do it. It's been a long while since I've played it, but I recall it being great. If you're really into the story as you say, it seems like a no-brainer.

What.  
 
You played Mass Effect 2 without playing 1?  
 
What.
 
Of course you should play the first one.  
 
Someone talk to this cat.  I don't even know what to say.

definitely worth it. you're gonna notice alot of changes goin from 2 into 1 but as long as you are willing to adapt then you should be fine. it is very much worth it to play through.

The game play aspect is not as refined as ME2. The story line is awesome though and will even give you a desire to return to ME2 after you beat ME1 because the characters in ME2 will make more sense. Skip all of the tedious planet exploring stuff though. Driving around in that tank is terrible. All of the buildings in those planet exploring side quests use the same 3 templates and all of the planets have the same terrain if they aren't part of a major storyline mission. 

" The game play aspect is not as refined as ME2. The story line is awesome though and will even give you a desire to return to ME2 after you beat ME1 because the characters in ME2 will make more sense. Skip all of the tedious planet exploring stuff though. Driving around in that tank is terrible. All of the buildings in those planet exploring side quests use the same 3 templates and all of the planets have the same terrain if they aren't part of a major storyline mission.  "

Play it, it's an amazing game and it's less than 20 bucks.

I liked the story in Mass Effect 1 better, so hell yes!

" @Jayzilla said:

" The game play aspect is not as refined as ME2. The story line is awesome though and will even give you a desire to return to ME2 after you beat ME1 because the characters in ME2 will make more sense. Skip all of the tedious planet exploring stuff though. Driving around in that tank is terrible. All of the buildings in those planet exploring side quests use the same 3 templates and all of the planets have the same terrain if they aren't part of a major storyline mission.  "

You're making the ghost of the Mako cry right now.  Oh, and exploring the moon was awesome, you can't deny that. "

Very worth it. Expect item management to be complete shit though. Every time you go to buy something, just expect to have to pull out a piece of paper and do the math on things the game really should have done for you.
 
That's really the only major problem I had with Mass Effect 1.

Totally worth it playing for the story alone.

You bilked yourself out of a lot of enjoyment of ME2 having not played ME1 first.

should this even be in mass effect 3 forum? as for that yes ME1 is worth it.

mass effect 1 is super good, buy it.

Overall, Mass Effect 1 is a superb game and even story wise is a LOT better than ME2, so yeah, give it a go :)

Given how dirt cheap it is to buy (even new) there's not much reason not to play it.

i preferred the ME 1 story so much to part 2.  i thought it was pretty incredible.
 
with that being said, the gameplay isn't as good, although it's got more rpg than action going on.  but there are definitely some dull moments throughout.  but the good parts are some damn good.  the last 2 or 3 hours, especially.

The gameplay is pretty dated. Luckily it's fairly easy so it's not frustrating. The story elements around the end are definitely worth a playthrough.

" You bilked yourself out of a lot of enjoyment of ME2 having not played ME1 first. "

It's very good, if you can get past the so-so combat and the fact that every corridor looks the same. The story is fantastic. Mass Effect 2 is a better game overall, but Mass Effect 1 has a slightly better story.

" You should totally play it. The actual plot and story of Mass Effect are much better then in Mass Effect 2. But the characters are a lot worse. As is the gameplay. "

Beware. If you play ME 1, you WILL have to play through ME 2 again with your new character.

I don't know from first-hand experience, but it is my understanding that the PC version of ME1 made a lot of improvements so, if you are going to go back and play it, you might want to try it on PC.

"I loved Mass Effect 2, and I'm pretty excited for Mass Effect 3. I never played the first one though, should I? My favorite part of Mass Effect 2 was the story and I was thinking maybe I should play the first one to get the whole experience.  What do you guys think? "

The story in ME1 is so much better than ME2's imo.  
 
ME1 is a must play, just for the experience of walking around The Citadel for the first time. 

Might as well. Can pick it up fairly cheap these days so worth playing through the adventure. Be warned, the second is a more streamlined experience than the first in terms of menus, item management etc.

Absolutely. Story was a lot better than the second game.

Definitely. Loved it enough to S rank. Gameplay will make you frustrated but the story is brilliant. Like others said, you should bring your playthrough through to ME2- if you do I recommend getting with Liara because Kaidan and Ashley are boring and Liara's story carries over to Lair of the Shadow Broker nicely.

What is this? I don't even...
 
YES OF COURSE YOU SHOULD PLAY ME1.
 
Sovereign and Saren are brilliant.

You played Mass Effect 2 before Mass Effect 1? Why would you do that? But yeah, play Mass Effect 1. It's really good.

If you want the full experience then play ME1 on Casual, that way you won't have to wrestle with the gameplay as much.  On story it alone it's totally worth just for when meet certain characters in ME2 and say "I REMEBER YOU!" 

" What.    You played Mass Effect 2 without playing 1?    What.  Of course you should play the first one.    Someone talk to this cat.  I don't even know what to say. "

It's the better game of the series, IMO. Get it, and immerse yourself in the amazing world. 
 
An play it over like 7 times like I did

It's worth every penny. Even though it's not technically as good as mass effect 2 in terms of score, I still enjoyed the game for what it was. Also you will know more about the back story to the second game you played and see it for yourself. I like mass effect and the game is really good, go play it.

Play Mass Effect 1 and then replay Mass Effect 2.  Having your whole story tailored to your decisions from the very beginning of the series makes those decisions feel more weighted.

" The game play aspect is not as refined as ME2. The story line is awesome though and will even give you a desire to return to ME2 after you beat ME1 because the characters in ME2 will make more sense. Skip all of the tedious planet exploring stuff though. Driving around in that tank is terrible. All of the buildings in those planet exploring side quests use the same 3 templates and all of the planets have the same terrain if they aren't part of a major storyline mission.  "

Yes. Go play it. I'm one of those people that think the first was a better game. Mass Effect 2 is also great, but the first game had a much better story and shit really goes down from Virmire until the end. The entire galaxy is on the verge of collapse, and you never really get that feeling in the second game. Also, the RPG features are really cool and I wish Mass Effect 2 didn't streamline it so much. 

Storywise, ME 1 is superior in alot of ways

Yeah, I'm playing through ME2 again and sure the story was great in the first one but that doesn't mean it was poor in the second, just repetitive with similar mission structures. Play though the first one, well worth it although it will be janky for awhile as you level up

It's great.

Fuck. Yes. Buy it already, what are you waiting for?!

Yep, you should play the first one, if only because you can get it for so cheap. Sure, ME1 is a technical mess with fairly mediocre gameplay (The Mako and all the generic sidequests associated with it are pretty much satan incarnate) and unlikeable characters (i.e. the crew members that aren't in your crew in ME2 or named Wrex), but the overarching story was given more thought than the fairly straightforward, yet plot hole ridden main story of ME2. In the end, it's always been the little self-contained vignettes that Bioware does so well and that is true in this game's case as well.

Mass Effect 1 has a really good story, and some great characters. But I can't say I enjoyed the gameplay. I would love for it to be remade with the Mass Effect 2 and 3 combat down the line so I can finally will myself into doing some more of the sidequests instead of rushing a 12-hour playthrough.  In the end I would say it was worth it though. Also, if you don't want to get into the looting and convoluted menus, switch to easy mode.

Huh, I had never heard that ME1 had a better story!  
 
The decision is fucking taken! I'm getting it and importing my character to ME2, I'll also just play it on casual and will try not to mess with the side missions too much.  
 
Thanks, duders, great help as always.