Along with Spore and Bioshock, Mass Effect helped kick off the outrage against DRM that we've been seeing over the past few years.
It requires internet activation, and activations are limited. There's a revoke tool, but for me, it didn't even work.

What he said, but I think you should buy it anyway, if only because EA/BioWare have changed their minds since. Or play console version (not as good but yeah).

The DRM on Mass Effect 1 is the reason I broke down and decided to try out Steam, since so many people sing its praises. Turns out I don't like Steam, but in this case it was the lesser of two evils. And since I picked it up cheap, it was acceptable.
As far as the story goes though, you should play the first game if you can find a release that's palatable to you DRM-wise. Despite what Gundato says, the story will be much easier to follow if you've played the first one.

A feature so bad I'd forgotten all about it already. :) You can reportedly give yourself maximum minerals by altering some configuration file or other, which certainly sounds like a great way to skip this wholly irredeemable feature.

You can just swap the exe on the disc version though, and BOOM, DRM-free. If you own the game, I don't see an issue there.
Both games are worth playing... the original has some cooler aspects than the sequel and vice versa... both are worth it. The only terrible thing in either is the original's TERRIBLE inventory system. That thing is a nightmare.
The ME2 DLC requires activation to play, so stay away from that if you hate DRM.

If you really, out of principles, hate DRM, stay away even from Mass Effect 2, for that's one of those games that has anti-piracy and anti-resale policy of cutting content out of the game and selling it as DLC. If you don't hate DRM that much, you may as well install Steam and buy Mass Effect 1 there.

What was "cut out" of Mass Effect 2 by your estimation? The day one stuff, Zaeed and the Normandy Crash Site, show obvious signs of not being part of the main game. Zaeed doesn't even have dialogue on the Normandy like the main crew do.
I dislike DLC that is overpriced or under-delivers as much as the next person, but the whole assuming DLC was cut content thing really baffles me.

In final mission, when you have entire crew and you're choosing who should do what, there's the 'disk' icon that shows up for crew members you're yet to obtain. Since it's in base game, he apparently WAS cut out, or it's some kind of weird bug.

I'd really love to play the ME series. While I can live with the ME2 DRM, I have refused to buy it until I play ME 1, and I refuse to buy ME 1 due to it's DRM.
Have they said anything about removing the DRM from ME 1. It seems like they would at least re-release ME1 with the same DRM as ME2. Maybe a Gold Edition?
If not, anyone know where I can buy it without the awful original DRM? FYI, I'm in the U.S. and I don't like or use Steam.

It's DRM-free on Steam ... Well, with Steam DRM

The disk icons are deliberate place-holders; Zaeed was available right away, but the second one, Kasumi, was released much later. Whether they actually cut Zaeed out only to put him back in as DLC is open to debate, but it's clear that EA wanted to exploit this and other free DLC goodies to entice players into buying the game new.
As for a DRM-free version of the first game, that probably won't happen until they make some sort of "Mass Effect Trilogy" compilation, so you have a while to wait.

You are doing yourself a disservice. Mass Effect is one of the best games ever released.
At least get it for the 360 if you have one. I got it for it first, then for the PC.

Ha! Maybe EA will come to GOG eventually. But with their back catalogue of classics, it could be some time before they get around to releasing Mass Effect. Even if it does apparently already fit GOG's definition of old.

Actually, by not playing ME1 first, he loses out on importing, which is a big deal considering how much it can change your game. The default Shep loses out on many bonus quests and has made many questionable choices. It is possible to get downloads of saves that people have made of certain types of playthroughs, so he can skip it if he's willing to look around and pick them up instead, though he may not know the choices they refer to. Without importing, he will miss out on some aspects of the game.

Yeah I was thinking about getting ME2 since people say it is much better than the first (even people I know who hated the first). I got really bored of the first so I'm wondering if I'll miss out on a lot of story.