I got all the achievements and I still play this game, dont know why it didnt get a better score then 8.5
I wouldnt really call this game an RPG, its more like a third person shooter. Other than that, it does have all the elements of an RPG.
The Good: Great graphics, GREAT Story, good variety of weapons and armor, interesting characters, addictive, good variety of achievements, good use of achievements to get bonuses in the game.
The Bad: Repetitive level design, vehicle movement, minor glitches (getting stuck and such), SLOW elevators, the "vision" cutscene is annoying.
I have clocked over 100 hours on this game, and I have beaten it about 10 times on all different difficulties, I also have all the achievements, the hardest by far is getting the Asari ally achievement. I just cant seem to get enough of this game, and although I have played it through about 10 times, I found something new each time I played it, and there is still more.
The story in this game is insane, there is so many different things in this story that you can discover. Thanks to their use of "good" and "bad" points (kinda like in Fable), you can unlock different events in the game. The more good points you add through lvling up or acquire just by resolving certain disputes in a nice way, it will determine weather or not you can unlock more speech options that will resolve situations that would usually end up getting someone killed. This also goes for the bad side, in situations where someone would usually survive or get away or something like that, the evil points will allow you to do something rude or mean to get that person killed or something of that sort.
I really enjoy the variety of skills and weapons that you can use in this game, the biotics are an interesting idea, and all the engineering skills do come in handy, especially the shield overload. My suggestion to anyone who is going to play the game for the first time, it to play through as a soldier first, and get all the achievements for the weapons then select a biotics or engineering character and just add whatever weapon you want that isnt included on that character, my preference is the shotgun because it is really handy in close spaces which there are a lot of in this game. All the weapons have their strong points, the assault rifle is good for killing numerous small and easy to kill enemies at any range, the pistol is one of the most versatile weapons in the game, and you can use it for just about anything and is a good alternate to use with the shotgun and it can be used for long ranges. The sniper is good if you want an accurate shot from a long range that will usually kill in one shot, but after that, all the enemies tend to scatter and take cover, and the sniper isnt all that good until you get the better series like the Spectre weapons after which I ended up using it somewhat like a shotgun. Now, as for the shotgun, it is a great weapon, and after a while it becomes great for close and medium range, it can kill from a good distance, and a good type of ammo to use with it is the sledgehammer or hammer rounds which add weapons force to the weapon and allow you to knock various enemies down, even the larger ones, also the shotgun's special advanced ability, carnage, it great for long range one shot kills against the larger enemies.
As for the traveling throughout the galaxy, it works, but the level designs do get rather repetive and annoying. In the game, you use these things called "Mass Relays" to go from point A to point B in a very short time, after which you use the "FTL" drive to get between systems and planets. Once you land on the planet, you will more than likely use the Mako which is basically a 6-wheel drive off-road vehicle with insane shocks. The Mako is annoying, it bounces around a lot, and it is easy to end up going a direction you dont want it to, I end up driving in reverse a lot. Also the Mako's gun sucks, just keep in mind: if the crosshairs are pointing there, dont expect the gun to hit there, the gun is greatly effected by the terrain it is driving on. Which is another thing, the terrain in this game is beyond annoying, the mountains are gigantic, and the Mako often cant scale them, so you have to find another way around.
The level designs for the side missions is extremely repetitive, and chances are each time you go into a building on a different planet, that building will look exactly like any one of 3 types of buildings that you have been in before, and the only difference is the bad guys inside, and their sense of interior design (the stuff inside the building has been rearranged).
Other than those few things I mentioned, this is a great game, and I will most likely continuing to play this game, because I am sure that there are a few things within the story that I have missed or not yet touched on. Anyway, overall, this is a great game, and well worth looking into RPG fan or not, it is still a lot of fun, and I cant wait for the other two games.