Well played J man.

well even a russian RPG is an RPG

The mistaken premise is basing that the only influnce the payers have on the game world is centered on the Avatar and not the game world. It's influencing the game world through the avatar that really defines whats an rpg rather than having the trappings and being good. I didn't mention Icewind Dale(BI), PlaneScape(BI), Baldurs Gate(BioWare) because they fall mostly into the same group of having interaction, but little influence. More like discovering the pages of a book. Doing a side quest to bring back a locket and having them change a small bit of text I would not classify as highly interactive game world. To be fair though I never tried vast interaction with those ones. I never tried having the town owner ship change hands or eliminating the defenders.

KoToR is another matter. KoTor is more like a tree that start at the trunk and moves to the highest point with all it's main quests. Starts at a base point and ends at the same point. You can choose friendly or mean along the path, but the end result is that it's the same. KoToR 2 has numeruos points where you can change areas one way or another. You can overthrow a government or help the defending government. You can help a mad wooky or help the girl. These result that theres more than one offshoot when you leave thus leaving behind an area with your options influencing the show. KoToR does give you chunk choices, but little change out side of a simple binary flag once finished an area. KoToR did at least have the Wookie planet that seemed to give you a choice on what you leave behind.

Multiple endings aren't needed. It's the path on how you get there and what you have left behind. This more of a case of crpg in general. crpg writers really can't make infinite endings.

Keep in mind I don't advocate that a good game has to be an rpg. I thought PlaneScape torment was awesome with so many little things to discover. It was very engrossing. For the most part though it was a on rails story. I didn't like Icewind Dale as much, and Baldurs Gate was good, but I never finished.

Ok, I probably make it to easy for me,and narrow it up a bit but; for a game to be considered a real RPG (for me) it has to include.

1. The ability to play a role, and do choices based on how you imagine the character.

2. Moral dilemmas (in essence choices)

3. 'Internal' and 'external' development based (partly) on the choices you make

The problem is that you define influence as only things affecting the main overarching storyline.  In KotOR2, you get to choose Light side or Dark side and most of your choices will stem from that.  You can make some changes but for the most part (with a couple exceptions) everything happens about the same way on each path.  

Conversely, in Baldur's Gate 2 not only did you get a main quest with several branches of its own (Bodhi/Shadow Thieves, Slayer/Non-Slayer) but you also got a lot of diverse quests as well.  Did you go to the De'Arnise Keep and save Nalia's kingdom and become a ruler?  Did you become the leader of a Shadow Thieves guild with Edwin?  Explore the other realm with Haer'Dalis?  Did you meet up with Drizz't and a couple other special groups?  If you did they would show up during the main quest to help out in a big way.  Did you free the amazing Mazzy Fentan from the dungeon and face the beast of Shadow?  Did you clear your name after being framed by a certain plotting lord?

The list of things goes on and on.  In KotOR you had a main quest with a few decisions some of which mattered more than others but in Baldur's Gate 2 you had a main quest with tons of side-quests that let you define your character, flesh out your party with lots of new members each with their own motivations, and even affect the course of the main quest with your decisions in those side quests.  It's not on the level of Fallout 2 where you can walk to the "finish line" but Baldur's Gate 2 easily blows KotOR and KotOR2 out of the water in terms of freedom.  It shows in sheer gameplay time if nothing else.  Doing everything there is to do in Baldur's Gate to could take well over 100 hours whereas a couple replays of KotOR would probably clock in under 50.

You get a decision which changes one small part toward the end of the game in KotOR whereas in Baldur's Gate 2 you get a multitude of decisions like the De'Arnise Keep which lead to saving a woman's family, becoming ruler of your own domain, and even a romance with drama and kidnapping.  Do they necessarily affect the end of the game (short of having that character with you or not)?  No, but do you really think there's more roleplaying in the former?

There's an old saying among table-top RPG players and that's "You can't win the game" because there is nothing to win.  The game is in the adventure itself.  Getting to the end isn't nearly as important as what you do on the way that's where Baldur's Gate 2 shines and KotOR falls.

I left BG2 out of my discussion because I haven't played it. I was refering to BG1 and I didn't finish, but I think I already mentioned that.  I wouldn't put KoTOR in as a full rpg, but a good story with numerous rpg trappings. Though your discussion on BG2 get's me the urge to install it(I've had the game for years, shame on me). But I stand by what I say. In the limitations of a crpg you have start and and end. How you get there is up to you. The rest is discovery. If you end up doing an on rails story, then it's not an rpg, but instead a interactive novel. You might as well play Steve Jackson Fighting Fantasy novels and call them rpgs. But this doesn't mean they are not some what enthralling and fun to play. Many of them are.

I'm pretty familiar with the table top saying. Though I prefer Pen(cil) & Paper myself. I have become 20 years familiar with the saying :)

Edit:  ok how about this. Consider me an Elite/Upstream/Hardcore Role Player that finds CRPGS to be casual low games and that i'm being a harcore ass about it :) though a hardcore player that enjoys "low" end crpgs anyways :)

This.

Gears of War was one badass RPG....

Iceland is pretty icy too. =P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatnaj%C3%B6kull

Your observation is astute. JRPG is largely a misnomer due to the almost complete lack of anything that can be defined as role playing. To the people who keep saying that you are playing a role in JRPGs you are in fact not. You need to be able to make decisions that alter the outcome of the story, character development, etc... to actually be playing a role. Linear gameplay and a rigid story have nothing to do with true role playing.