It's not an issue of being linear (although linear generally is a negative because an open world game is harder for the developer to restrict and dumb down, and in open world you get exploration, freedom and variation essentially for free), it's about the free versus controlled experience. In the past all games were linear but they were absolutely packed with gameplay instead of fluff. So linear in itself is not bad.
Bioshock and Half-Life 2 are linear but free. Call of Duty and Uncharted are linear and controlled - as in tightly scripted, filled with cut-scenes, filled with obvious directions to guide the player forward and having almost no sections were the player can make anything wrong - the game essentially plays by itself and you watch this drama as a bystander.
I adore Half-Life 2 and Bioshock. These games have strong story-telling and can be described as cinematic too. But they give the control of the game to the player.
I think PullusPardus means this too. Linear-free versus linear-controlled.
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