So i've put about 3 hours into it today. Loving the game so far, it's a perfect follow-up story to the original ME. The characters are growing on me and i'm absorbing myself in the universe once again.
That said, i'm not liking the combat as much. I miss the more tactical combat of ME1. I don't care what anyone says, ME2 really does feel like a Gears 2 clone at times - a positive for most people, but a negative for me. I feel like the series has lost some of its identity now. You could say "it's identity was bad inventories and weak micromanagement?", but your words wouldn't faze me. All I know is I liked it better the old way. Fumbling through the mountain of loot and the poor excuse of a tactical interface had its charm. I fell in love with ME, flaws and all. I completely agree with whoever said "instead of refining the elements that needed fixing, they just ripped them out instead". It's a real shame, so much potential lost (although I don't go as far as seeing potential in elevator loading screens..
).
Perhaps it's created a more streamlined experience - I don't quite know yet. I'll need to play it some more. But right now it feels like two steps forward and one step back, a better game overall but with its disappointments along the way.