Mass Effect 1 ps3 won't load after character create

I have a ps3 that runs other games fine. However when I try to play my new mass effect game from the trilogy I purchased it will allow me to crate a character and pick the attributes but when I click yes to finalize and that I realize I can't go back and edit the character, the character immediately stops moving and the game freezes but still plays music.
I've tried using male and female presets after it wouldn't let me make my own, same thing.
I've tried deleting the save data and redownloading the entire game to the hardware.
No fix.
Can anyone please help? I've been looking forward to playing this game for a while and I'm so frustrated.