Its a mixed bag. The story itself is fairly boring, only working because of a small handful of excellent moments rather than a consistent level of quality throughout. Likewise, most of the cast fell flat with a few standout members bringing up the average.
Where I can recommend Mass Effect 1 unconditionally is in its worldbuilding. From the details presented directly in the story to the supplementary info in the codex, ME1's world is interesting and fantastic, while still managing to feel believable. And while the future games would break from the details established here, it still provides a very strong foundation which the subsequent games would capitalize on.
I still think Mass Effect is worth playing, though I probably only say that with the knowledge that ME2 takes advantage of the setup here to deliver a much more satisfying experience. As a standalone title ME1 would be a pretty average game, but as the foundation for a trilogy it does a fairly good job.
Where I can recommend Mass Effect 1 unconditionally is in its worldbuilding. From the details presented directly in the story to the supplementary info in the codex, ME1's world is interesting and fantastic, while still managing to feel believable. And while the future games would break from the details established here, it still provides a very strong foundation which the subsequent games would capitalize on.
I still think Mass Effect is worth playing, though I probably only say that with the knowledge that ME2 takes advantage of the setup here to deliver a much more satisfying experience. As a standalone title ME1 would be a pretty average game, but as the foundation for a trilogy it does a fairly good job.