I've died about 4 times so far.

I would say that the game forces you to play a lot differently than ME1. In ME1, you could essentially walk into firefights and win most of the time. I keep doing that in this, and get destroyed. So I would say that, from a TPS standpoint, it may be 'easy'.

BTW, which class are you using? That may be part of it.

Playing a Vanguard. Now 7 hours in, still feels a bit easy. But it's also very good.

The regenerating health seems to work with the fast paced combat. Guns use ammo. Lots of the RPG-esque item micromanagement from the first game (guns, armour, gun perks, armour perks) is completely gone. Everything has been streamlined. I can see some people taking issue with this as it's a pretty big departure from the first game.

I would say that when compared to the original this game has been rearranged in a way that will make it appeal more to shooter fans (just look at the boxart...), while still retaining some RPG goodness. It also improves upon some failures of the first for sure.

I also found the game a bit easier than the first. I played on Normal difficulty, and I think I died less than 20 times or so during the entire game. But dying wasn't really a problem, since the game saves before just about every fire fight. And once I learned to use cover in the right way, it was even easier.

I'm enjoying the game a lot. My only real complaint is that they kinda removed every RPG element with the exception of dialog trees and NPCs who aren't enemies/teammates. Stats and leveling up are totally removed in every way and upgrading isn't any different than what action games have been doing for years and in many ways it's less than what action games like Resident Evil 5 and Infamous do in terms of customizing and upgrading weapons/abilities.

A super super minor complaint would be the notification pop ups taking up 1/4 of the screen.

That threw me off at first.  The first few times I saw one my mind went to action game mode and I left the area feeling that I'd beaten the stage and it was time to move on to the next one and couldn't go back even if I wanted to.  Luckily none of that is actually the case, but seeing a mission complete screen still makes me think it's Sonic or Mario and I'm about to get a point tally, I might win an extra life and Shepard is going to run off the screen and i'll be taken to the level select screen... which is kinda what happens if you want it to.

Anyone see the Reggie Fils-Aime cameo on Omega?

Could anyone clarify the lack of RPG element complaints? My copy won't arrive until Friday but some of these complaints are bothering me. Is the game a straight up TPS now?

^No I def don't think it is.

I got a question about importing the ME1 character. I would have done that if I still had my original save but since that xbox got stolen I couldn't. But I saved Kaiden instead of Ashley as well as kept Wrex alive in the first. But in this one would I have seen Kaiden on the colony instead of Ash? And would it be presumed that Wrex is dead?  Because people said that to me. Would that have played out differently had I imported my character?

ARGH! Wrex's brother?
NO, A SPOILER.
Only two days now.

^Whoops sorry about that. Changed for others.