[Phoenix1010]

Obviously the freedom of a large canvas can cause the artist to try to do too much. Plenty of stories just spin wildly out of control, Metal Gear Solid 2 is a great example for anyone who's played it. Having all that space is a benefit only if the creator uses it right, but it can be a big benefit.

You're narrowing games down too much. The different genres emphasize different qualities, what's important to a racing game might not be such a big deal in an adventure game. In fighting and action games, the story is irrelevant; in adventure games, a decent story can be a nice bonus; In standard console RPGs (Everquest and the like are a different beast altogether), the story is by far the most important element. In some cases a game that is busted in every other way can be one of the genre's all time greats based on story alone (Xenogears).

Edit: Just realized you might not have played the kind of game I'm talking about. Games like the Final Fantasy series have evolved into more of an interactive storybook than an actual game. It's still pretty niche, so I guess not everyone would know it.