by Rahman Majere

Created on: January 22, 2011   Last Updated: January 23, 2011

RPG is an acronym for "role-playing game." Players in such games assume the role of a character in a fictional setting. These games typically have a great emphasis on an intricate plot and gradual character development. Traditionally, these games stress on social interaction and collaboration and some players will often go to great lengths to role-play their characters.

RPGs are relatively uncommon in the past, but there is a huge offering of all kinds of RPGs in the current age of gaming. It can be difficult to make a good choice considering the sheer range of RPGs available on the market. There are, however, several steps that you can take to ensure that you find an RPG that satisfies your gaming needs.

The first important thing to know is the different sources of information on the game. An obvious source would be the official game website itself which will hype you up on the virtues of the game. These will showcase the supposed strengths of the game as well as provide basic information on things such as system requirements and platforms. Once you've had your fill of trailers and other hypes, you can look up respected gaming magazines and their online counterparts. Some of these may well give biased reviews, but in general, they'll give you some indication of a game's quality and setting. If you're dubious on a particular review, you can always look up countless other online reviews and make your judgment from there.

Yet, since the advent of youtube and video walkthroughs, there's really little reason to not check out the various "let's plays" and other such videos. Casters such as ZeitgeistReview even offer near professional review services along with showcasing different segments of the game. Other casters offer a complete video walkthrough from the beginning to the end of a game and will often make spontaneous comments on the game's strengths and weaknesses in their videos. If all else fails, you can simply borrow or rent the game to try it out for yourself.

Now with all those sources of information, you can simply rely on the overall feel of the game to make your final decision. However, some players who already understand their gaming preferences in detail may choose to carefully examine an RPG based on the following factors.

Genre
Many RPGs in the past stay quite strictly within their genre. Games such as the Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate series are a good example of this. Yet, modern RPGs often draw heavily on other genres. As early as the

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