It's been said that the average age of gamers are closer to 30 than it is in the low 20s. The gaming boom happened around the early 80s, which is a generation I am a part of. Now that am a financial supporter and a father, the time I can spare for games have waned significantly; yet, my enthusiasm for games have not. My taste for games have changed over the years to suit the lifestyle I lead at the time. For example, the games I play during my high school years revolved around highly social games like Street Fighter or Bomberman. During my university golden years, it was skill-based games like Starcraft and Beatmania. As I was entering the work-force, it was MMORPGs, namely World of Warcraft. 
 
The games I play today are more akin to block-buster movies. Games like Uncharted 2, God of War III and Final Fantasy XIII. The commonality between each of these games is that they all offer a linear-style of gameplay. I'm now at an age that enjoys heavy, emotive story in games but prefer to have games deliver them in a manner that I know I can experience through the end. In short, my interest is now more in the immersive experience than the challenge itself.

It's been said that the average age of gamers are closer to 30 than it is in the low 20s. The gaming boom happened around the early 80s, which is a generation I am a part of. Now that am a financial supporter and a father, the time I can spare for games have waned significantly; yet, my enthusiasm for games have not. My taste for games have changed over the years to suit the lifestyle I lead at the time. For example, the games I play during my high school years revolved around highly social games like Street Fighter or Bomberman. During my university golden years, it was skill-based games like Starcraft and Beatmania. As I was entering the work-force, it was MMORPGs, namely World of Warcraft. 
 
The games I play today are more akin to block-buster movies. Games like Uncharted 2, God of War III and Final Fantasy XIII. The commonality between each of these games is that they all offer a linear-style of gameplay. I'm now at an age that enjoys heavy, emotive story in games but prefer to have games deliver them in a manner that I know I can experience through the end. In short, my interest is now more in the immersive experience than the challenge itself.

Agree entirely that a good, driven story of course needs nudging in the right direction.  "Freedom" is sometimes very overrated in games and you can end up faffing so much and getting completely lost and all sense of pace and tension is lost.  I've had a few "Well what the fuck do I do now?" situations.  Even happened in GTA IV because I thought the letters above people's houses just told you where they live after you've met them.