After reading through the thread:
I may be the only person in the world who
likes the resource scanning in this game (not just "I can stand it"..likes!) and I'm okay with that. It does get stale if you save it all for one big push at the end or whatever, but if you scan planets in between trips to Omega, Ilium, etc. then it's not bad at all. No matter what anyone says, for me: six hours of sending out probes > even two hours of going up and down mountains with the Mako.
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Also, other things I forgot to mention in my previous post:
1. I guess if I had to pick three new favorite characters from this game, it'd be (in order): Legion, Thane, and Samara. Although I was pleasantly surprised with every single new character, these three stood out big time for me. Although Legion is obsessed with Shepard in the story, it turned out being the opposite for me while playing the game. His "personality", the information he brings to the table, his combat skills, and his dialog put him over the top for me. Thane is easily one of the coolest characters in any video game that I've played/heard about. The dialog with his character was one of the highlights of the game for me. Samara was the biggest surprise for me, personally. I had a general idea of the awesomeness of Legion and Thane, but I had no idea I'd like Samara as much as I do. If I ever make a female Shepard, Samara would be the model I'd use.
2. The learning curve was brutal for me at the beginning. Actually, it may be unfair to call it a learning curve, since the game actually gives a good tutorial on how to play it. I guess I should call it the "un-learning curve". The fact that I soaked 100+ hours into ME1 just before this game came out left me way too familiar with the first game's controls. I basically had to forget ME1's combat altogether so that I'd be sharp through ME2. Of course, about 3-4 deaths before I even got control of the Normandy SR2 helped me learn the new system the quick way. About 3 hours into the game, though, I think I mastered the fighting (at least the Vanguard style) and soared through the rest of the game with maybe 2-3 more deaths that I can think of.
3. To put it rather bluntly: I love this

ing game. In my eyes, they did
everything right - whether it be the ME1 tie-ins, the romance subplots, the level/planet design, the resource system and leveling up weapons/skills, the customization, the missions/side-missions/messages, the movie-quality feel of the game, the interrupt system...everything. I can't wait to play as Renegade and, eventually, experience every class and every Male Shepard romance (although Tali is my #1 forever and ever - thanks in part to the most well-written romance in video gaming history

).
Game of the Year for 2010. Game of the Year for
Forever. (at least until ME3 comes out)