RPGWatch Side Quest: Where is the "R" in CRPG?

In our first Side Quest at RPGWatch, Corwin looks at roleplaying in modern CRPGs from both the player's and the game's perspective.  Do modern CRPGs really offer any roleplaying and do modern players really want it?

How much Role playing really happens in a modern CRPG? According to a recent readers poll on a well known gaming site, more than a third of all respondents said they only played ‘themselves’ and fewer than that actually tried to play a role. Should this be surprising, or has the ‘Role’ disappeared from our gaming?

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