Alt-fire? There was no tutorial for the Mako, so I'm not sure what that is. I was using the right trigger to fire. (Heck it took me getting killed once before I realized it even had weapons). Of course part of my problem is aiming the fire circle at the moving, flying enemies.
Again, I'm a PC gamer so I don't know first hand (for me it's the right mouse button), but a quick google tells me the right bumper should fire the heavy cannon. It's a bigger boom (and has a sizable AoE for incinerating tight groups of weaker enemies), you only get a few shots before it overheats and needs to cool down, but like I said, if you can shoot straight you generally only need a few shots.
I chose the Soldier class. I figured I could use all the help I could get with combat.
I agree with pretty much everything
Evil Twin said.
Playing as a soldier is a good, solid (and I think the most common) choice for a first time playthough. My first time, I almost exclusively used Liara and either Ash or Tali depending on whether or not I thought I'd be fighting Geth. Liara's most useful ability is easily Singularity. Perfect for crowd control, which comes in especially handy since the AI in ME1 is a bit off and enemies have a habit of running straight at you in an attempt to claim the cover *behind* you. :/
For Tali, it's of course, AI hack as it turn enemies against each other, but that's only good against geth & combat drones, so make sure she has a nice diverse balance of debuffing talents.
Needless to say, the class talent is worth investing in as it ups most of the basic stats and the Spectre talent grants you 'unity' which lets you revive fallen squadmates. It's probably worth equipping everyone (save perhaps Wrex & Ash) with a medical armour mod (sorry, I forget the exact name) as it regenerates their health, so you don't have to use medigel as often. Not really a spoiler to tell you not to skip the side mission that takes place on Luna. For one thing it lets you "evolve" your class power (sort of like a specialization) and for another...though it may seem inconsequential the way it ends is more consequential than you'd expect. It won't affect the plot or anything, but there's a mildly stunning revelation *very* late in ME3 that ties all the way back to this.
Make sure to load up each of your weapons mods and specialized ammo. Ammo that disrupts shields is best for rapid fire weapons like the AR & pistol, while ones that inflict lasting damage are best for the shotgun & sniper rifle that have a lower rate of fire. It's also worth considering just alternating between armour piercing and shredder ammo depending on whether you're facing organics or synthetics.
Oh and don't make the same mistake I did in my first game. You only really need to put points into either 'charm' OR 'intimidate', not both!
I haven't been looking at guides for dialogue choices. Although I get the feeling (at least for now) that all choices lead to the same bits of story. Maybe as I progress further, that won't be the case?
Well, broadly speaking, yes. No matter what you say or do that game always starts on Eden Prime and ends on <SPOILER REDACTED> which of course is awesome! But the choices you make along the way will have an impact, though some of it may not even bear fruit until the third game. I won't spoil anything but-...actually, I can't phrase this in a way that doesn't give it away so I'll just say that there are big decisions ahead and you'll know them when they appear.
As for the ending of ME3, I have read that there is a controversy, and I am aware of the root cause of the controversy, but none of the details for how and why it happens. I'll just say, I'm not discouraged from continuing, knowing what I know.
Good. Don't be. No matter what some of the more excitable fans might claim, the journey is totally worth the time invested (this coming from a person that *really* didn't like the ME3 ending...)
Oh I almost forgot the most important question! Are you playing as maleShep or femShep?
