Let me start this off by saying that I dip into western and eastern RPGs as equally as I can, I'm a huge fan of both Dragon Age and Final Fantasy, as opposite spectrum as those might seem.
Over the last ten years we've seen a rapid decline in the amount of eastern RPGs coming out in America, and on the opposite side of the coin western RPGs are finally coming to the forefront of console gaming. Games like Dragon Age and Mass Effect are making the western RPG more and more accessible with every new incarnation.
What people really seem to appreciate about these games is the vast number of choices they allow us to make. Whereas the eastern RPG sends you along a predestined path and you're more or less just along for the ride, the western RPG puts you in almost full control of the events surrounding your character.
Personally though, I feel like I'm in the small minority that's no longer impressed by the parlor trick that is "choice" in the RPG. I'll admit that I was initially blown away by Heavy Rain, Dragon Age and just about every other title in recent years that has allowed you to choose your character's path.
