[@DepressedSoviet] Just because the role is pre-designed for you makes it no less a "role-playing game." I suppose that some people don't want to bother with character creation, preferring instead to jump directly into the shoes of a character which they already like (whether that fondness is measured in the personality, the profession, or simply the aesthetics of the character).

Does it also bother you that [i]Deus Ex[/i] is about a character codenamed JC Denton, who the player can only customize, more or less, in the form of his hair color and his real, non-code name? Sure, you decide whether you're specializing in melee or small arms combat, but at the end of the day, JC has the same personality and writing behind him no matter who's actually picking up the game. He still plays the same role in the same paramilitary counterterrorist organization. Is [i]Deus Ex[/i] a bad game because of a lack of freedom in designing the character? I don't think so. If the writing and the gameplay are good enough, and it feels cool enough to live vicariously through this character, people will still want to play the game even if they don't have much control over how the character looks or acts.

[quote=@Dynamo Frokane]Right, so whats the appeal? Why should I buy it?[/quote]

The writing and storytelling in the games was always great, but people were held back from enjoying it because the combat sucked.

Now the combat sucks a lot less while the level of writing quality has stayed more or less the same. (Obviously some quests are better than others, according to personal taste.)