Since plenty of people are playing this game but nobody seems to want to be the one to make the thread, I'll go ahead and take one for the team. Maybe then the Random News thread can be about something else now, screams the armchair moderator in me. I'll take Raithe's post as a basis as it's the one with the most substance so far.
I've only played about 15 minutes of story myself. I already hate my dad and the fascist/communist/liberal/authoritarian axes along which the dialogue choices are written. WHERE ARE MY RENEGADE INTERRUPTS, BIOWARE?
For some reason, I'm not getting any of the creepy vibes I did with the faces from the trailers, in the actual game. They look better than ME3, but the art style is different. Shrek-ified isn't actually a bad description.
On the other hand, I've played ~5 hours of MP matches. Combat is much much better than ME3, from what I've seen. Faster, more focused on mobility, and the verticality element they've added to the levels is great. Controls seem more responsive and the cover system is much improved from ME2/ME3, being contextual and not as gamey. You can now "take cover" behind something and still take fire from the opposite direction if the angle of fire allows it, for example, but this also makes it harder to use "soft cover". The addition of different cooldowns for each power gives more flexibility, but I think individual powers are weaker now. For example Charge no longer ragdolls enemies if they are unprotected, no matter the rank.
I don't really remember how it was back when ME3 dropped, but here I'm getting my ass handed to me in freaking Bronze, whereas I could solo Gold in ME3.
I'm loving it. Come at me bros