The sniper rifle is horrible untill you become proficent with it. Even then it was my least favorite weapon and the last one I got the achievement on. Biotics were the most fun with tech abilitys second imo. The vast majority of the exploration aspect of the game sucks. Its poorly implemented filler. There were a few decent side quests though. Squad AI does suck so be glad the geth AI is not much better.
If your not enjoying the mechanics of the game its worth finishing for the storyline just skip over all the side stuff. I would recomend rescuing your Asari Ally ASAP and micro managing her biotics. If your a Soilder Tali and the blue bitch make for a nice grouping.
Mass Effect was a wonderful game despite all of its many flaws. I have high hopes Bioware will learn from its mistakes and make ME2 a giant bowl of pure awesome with caffine on top.
