I prefered Mass Effect 2 over ME1, so making the shooting more fluid and such is only a bonus for me, as I find that its very hard to go back to ME1 now. However, to appeal to a wider audience really doesn't fill me with optimism. I hadn't heard of Bioware until I bought ME1, and now its my favorite series ever, that is more down to ME2 though, not ME1.
You might think I must be part of the shooter crowd because I prefered 2 over 1, but the thing is, its the RPG elements that keep me playing. I loved the characters in ME2, because IMO they were so much better than the ones in ME1, i never particually liked any of the crew aside from wrex in ME1, yet in ME2 I love almost all of them, the exception being jack. I love the exploration part. The fact that everyone you talk to you has a back story and a reason for what they are doing.
What worries me about ME3 is, and I hate to say it, EA. Now, don't think I'm an EA hater, because I'm not. I would feel the same if it were any big publisher pulling the strings. What I am worried about is the need for more money all the time. Bring in the new players and such, I'm sorry, but I don't care about the new players. Who starts a trilogy with the last one? I don't care about all the typical COD players who have no interest in the story or characters at all, which means i really don't want BW to cater to them. I understand that they have as much right as me to play this game, but i don't see why they should be valued higher than I am. Maybe they arn't, maybe I'm wrong, but so far the impression I'm getting is that I'm not.
I really don't want the last game in my favourite trilogy to be ruined/tampered/dumbed down to suit people who don't care about it all, who have not invested at all in any of the characters that I have, meaning that I have to watch my favourites be sidelined to cater for them.