Yes, having a SF + FPS + RPG is an nice innovation. And the atmosphere is really well done. All in all it's a decent game, with several endings, and a finely crafted epic touch.
But it's nowhere close to the hype it got.
The dialogues are terrible. Star wars episode 2 level.
The environments are incredibly dull. Empty. Repetitive. "Illusion of openness" but really just closed connected corridors except on the empty planets. What saves the game is the space exploration system making you feel you are really bad ass.
The combat system is a mess. I never could tell when I was winning because of my skill or some chance. Does my new equipment works ? Was this spell used right ? No idea. I just powered through the last 2 levels because it was just more efficient. Like in any modern game, healing is so easy anyway.
The UI Is terrible. Your bag is full, but you can't mass manipulate things to sell them. Reading an item description takes a split second, which cumulatively makes choosing gear a torture.
The game is buggy. FPS drops (it's an old game on a recent graphic card, damn it), characters stuck in walls, camera not moving... I was ok with that... on the PS1.
The writing isn't close to any classical RPG (fallout, baldur's gate, final fantasy 7, tale of fantasia, chrono trigger...). The motivation of characters are underwhelming: you feel no passion, anger or driving emotion of any kind, nor intellectual master plans. Everything seems a reason and a shortcut to get going. The person you are playing has the charisma of an oyster. The backstories are the only thing not messed up, and each of your comrade have a cool unique personality.
And god, half of the game time is spent on those awful planet exploration transitions with the mako. Not to mention moving anywhere is slow and clunky while being a good part of the game. And those unskipable animations (docking, mako droping, elevators, mass relays...), really what were they thinking ? The game is basically unplayable without using the apparently famous "bind game acceleration to middle click" hack so you can just speed up time and not become crazy. Having to cheat in a game not to win but to be able to enjoy it is not good design.