The OP makes a really great point and I agree with it.
I hate the linearity in games. Uncharted 1 and 2 are both fantastic and amazing games to play through, but their replay value for me is insanely low due to the fact that there is only one very specific path to take the entire game and only one way to do everything. There is no exploring. You keep going in the same direction and jump from rock to rock..shooting guys as you go.
The second Uncharted game did an amazing job at working around this, however. They did it a lot better, and I felt like I was exploring the world even while I was on an insanely linear track. It's weird.
I definitely do enjoy games that let you explore the worlds and wander around more. I love Super Mario 64 for that fact. In Super Mario Galaxy, you are restricted constantly in everything you can do depending on what star you get. There are very few stars were actual exploration is necessary. in SM64, you had the entire world in front of you and you could bounce around and do anything you wanted in that world as you completed the stars.
