Mass Effect 1 From Trilogy for PS3 freezing issue

I recently purchased the Mass Effect Trilogy for the PS3 and Im already having issues with the first Mass Effect. The game continues to freeze at three specific spots so far. It freezes right when you hit X to "accept" the character you create in the character creation screen before you start the game. If I manage to make it past that, it freezes again whenever you push the "start" button on the PS3 controller. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. The third time is if I make it past the start screen freeze, whenever I try to manually save the game, it freezes at that point as well. I had given up after that. I contacted EA through online chat and phone on two occasions and all they gave me was troubleshoot things to try, which I did. I am fed up with dealing with this and if anyone knows a solution please let me know. My personal opinion on the matter is that since the game was ported to the PS3, the developers didn't take the time to fully test the game and make sure it would play correctly and fix any bugs that appeared. I really need a solution to this. It would be GREATLY appreciated.