Why Mass Effect 2 is the Future of the RPG

GamerNode argues in an editorial that Mass Effect 2, in its trimming down of tropes and cliches, represents the future of the RPG genre.

I just summarized 90% of the JRPGs to be released in the past 10 years right there and it’s getting worse. I don’t know about you, but I can’t trudge through that scenario again. They present this “story” as some epic yarn with a boring battle and level system that gives the illusion of character progression. Your character may be getting stronger, but he himself has not evolved at all. You don’t know him any better than you did at the beginning of the game.

Don’t think this just affects JRPGs. Western RPGs don’t fare any better. While most of them are already rich in character development, they are so weighed down by confusing combat systems and the always-imposing thought that you can break your character at anytime. Trying playing through the original Fallout or Fallout 2 without some sort of character guide so you don’t make a useless build. Or take a look at Arcanum’s character screen. While the game’s story, world, and character progression are excellent, there are about 20+ stats that you can build, all of them vague and confusing. You never know which one to really build or where to invest. It’s overwhelming and is just not fun at times.

I think we’ve all heard these arguments before, and they boil down to “the future of RPGs is to be less like RPGs”. Is this true? And if so, is it a good thing?