Michael,
Your blog about the Tony Hawk game suggests that this game could be laborious if you have to trudge through the first level to get to the second, etc. Also contradicts Rouse. On page 129 he says, "Non-linearity is great for providing players with a reason to replay the game. Replaying a game where the player has already overcome all of the challenges is not that much fun..."

Rouse, by the way, has an interesting piece on what he sees as the most dramatic development in the game industry: 3D, for better and worse