I remember once having a long discussion with someone over wether or not Oblivion was an true RPG, my arguement being that the only way to play a specific "role" would be by directing your skill and stat growth. His couter arguement being that with a little imagination you could play any role you wanted to.
It is true in all senses. Now I am not the most avid FPS'er, actually I pretty much hate the genre, but I could easily pick up any of the hundreds of FPS's I've avoided buying over the years and play one whille pretending to roleplay something other than the grizziled ubermarine thats so common these days, and it would be an RPG, for me atleast.
In these crossgenre days it's not always easy to tell genres apart though, every game seems to mix in a little of everything in order to improve upon the base they build from. The addition of "RPG elements" in a game can range from being the ability to pick up items, have marginal stat growth or even something as simple as having a multiple choiced convasation.
Most people won't agree with you if you go out and proclaim that Prey is a great RPG, but someone probably will. Just as when you go proclaim that Mass Effect isn't a real RPG. In the end it all comes down to what your own criterias for a genre is. Some people want massive stat building or tons of equipment to loot in order for them to call something an RPG. Others are happy if they get to chose an additional weapon every level. Me, I am a bit of a pureist, I think PST was the epitome of cRPG development and everything since that is just varrying degrees of immitation. That doesn't mean I've give up on the genre however, or even that I'll go around and try to change what should be part of an RPG with insults and flames. I'll happily add my input on the subject but in the end, I've come to accept that RPG's isn't as restricted a genre as it used to be. Same as what happend with FPS's, RPG's and every other genre under the sun the developers came to realise that they could borrow ideas from each other and in turn create a more versatile game that, hopefully, will entertain you even more.
I am sure if you look hard enough you'll find people that'll argue that Alpha Protocol won't be considered an RPG because it isn't isometric. And for them, thats true. For the rest of us, lets just each make up our own mind and wait and see?
Ohh and to answer the original topic, don't you think the Mass Effect forum had a "The KOTOR comparisons must get annoying" topic at one time or another?
