Mass Effect 1 is really like the first season of a TV show. The series was still finding its footing, but the story and characters make up for the grindy bits

The first game is a bit different from the rest and it's greatest strength is the world building of the universe, where it is the strongest title of the trilogy. People mostly like the mass effect series for the companions though, and they are at their best in the second game.

The first game suffers a bit from being an awkward hybrid between an infinity engine game and a more action-oriented game. It was a rough time for RPGs in general in that respect. ME2 and 3 lean more in to the action game play for better and worse (mostly better).

Unless you are in hurry to get on to the next game, I'd encourage you to do some of the optional and very easy to miss sidequests that you can get from exploring planets. Its worth checking the wiki for these if you don't feel like doing enough exploring to stumble across them organically, I can in particular recommend the Cerberus quest chain and Talis geth quest chain.

I liked how the combat system evolved and became more immersive instead of a third person rts. The story was interesting, with your choices following you through the games. I did a renegade run and still ended up with paragon points. Also, don't explore and find everything unless you are dedicated to 100percent run.

Super amazing? No. But fun and a good story with fun characters. Talking to them for side missions actually makes bonding with them worth the time and effort. If you have all three games you might as well play the series as intended 1-3.bur if you only have one or two, the game falls flat. They need each other to make sense, have fun, and become one giant decent game.

So i say again, have fun. If you are getting frustrated, back off, relax, play some BioShock, then you get back up and eat that horse. It's more important to enjoy the game then it is to finish it within a set time.