“Waiter, there’s a shooter in my RPG!”

Or should that be, “There’s an RPG in my shooter”?

Along with the tremendous praise heaped on Mass Effect 2 since its release in February, there has also been a growing number of people criticising the game for its apparent lack of RPG elements. Gone is the clunky inventory system of Mass Effect, replaced with a small selection of upgradeable weapons and armour pieces. In-depth character customisation is also missing; instead, Shepard and chums have only a handful of skills and talents, with only four tiers to each. But possibly most sacrilegious of all, you no longer gain experience from killing enemies; it’s now awarded in huge chunks at the end of missions.

These are fair criticisms, and go some way to backing up claims that Bioware dumbed-down the gameplay for this sequel. But all this whining about “RPG elements” raises the question: do these people even know what an RPG is? From their numerous complaints, a complete outsider might gather that an RPG is a game in which you invest acquired points and items into improved skills and equipment. The thing is, you do these very same things in Resident Evil 4. And in Batman: Arkham Asylum. And the Need for Speed games. But no one in their right mind would call any of these games an RPG.

These so-called “RPG elements” are prevalent in almost every genre of game you care to mention. And yet, the gaming community still insists on using these elements to define the singular genre of the RPG. Doesn’t this seem a little absurd?

Let me suggest something radical. (You might want to sit down for this. Or at least take a few deep breaths.) The Role-Playing Game is not defined by levelling up skills and micromanaging bloated inventories. The Role-Playing Game is defined by (wait for it) playing a role.

You could argue that almost every game allows you to assume a role. But in, say, an FPS, that role is clearly defined from the beginning; every characteristic and decision of the protagonist has been mapped out for you. You’re just along for the ride. What sets RPGs apart is the ability tailor the protagonist to your own liking. A good RPG will allow you to involve yourself in the game’s major decisions and the very minutiae of the character.

In Batman: Arkham Asylum, for example, you can level up Batman’s abilities. But Batman’s decisions and actions have been pre-defined. An early objective is to stop Victor Zsasz killing a guard he’s taken hostage. You’re told that the best way to deal with the situation is to take out Zsasz without him seeing you. The game does let you just barge into the room, but as soon as you do this, Zsasz kills the guard and the Game Over screen pops up. You can’t make Batman’s decision’s for him. You can’t role play.

There is a similar situation in Mass Effect 2. Thane’s loyalty mission ends with a hostage situation; Thane’s son Kolyat is holding a Turian politician at gunpoint. Unlike Batman: Arkham Asylum, the game gives you several options. You can distract Kolyat with a gunshot, punch him, or even be a complete arse and shoot the hostage. Your decision will be based upon how you have been playing your Shepard. In other words, the role you’ve been playing.

There may not be as many “RPG elements” in Mass Effect 2 as we might have wanted, but in a way that’s our fault. The fans begged for better combat and a more intuitive inventory system. And Bioware listened. The thing is, good shooter combat is incompatible with the kind of “RPG elements” seen in the first Mass Effect. But the actual role-playing is just as good, if not better. So there’s no shooter in my RPG. There isn’t even any RPG in my shooter. There is, however, a completely mental Commander Shepard who’s just as likely to shoot you in the kneecaps as offer you some medigel.