I don't think ME is a reflection of a new direction for Bioware, though. In fact, it seems to me like the logical progression from Bio's previous games. It's basically Kotor with slightly better combat and higher production values.
For me, the technical improvements over previous games did nothing to lessen the impact of the bad writing and design. If anything, it just made all of Mass Effect's problems stand out more. The more it looks like an Hollywood production, the more it brings out the fact that everything else is still incompetent, even when compared to a run of the mill, Hollywood action movie.