This has been somewhat of a heated debate this gen, especially since the launch of FFXIII. Do you prefer games that throw you in a world and give you the option of doing whatever, or do  you prefer games where you follow a selected path and essentially let the game assist you in advancing? Examples of open-world RPGs are Fallout and Oblivion while some linear RPGs are FFXIII, ME2 and Demon's Souls.

I personally prefer linear RPGs because I get overwhelmed with the amount of "stuff" to do in open-world RPGs. It's like if you hand me a blank piece of paper and tell me to draw anything, I wouldn't be able to know where to start and how to proceed. I like games that are linear because they normally focus more on actions, thus I prefer linear RPGs.

I tend to prefer more story controlled games. Final Fantasy XII did more of an open-world experience the right way. Games like Fallout/Oblivion I really can't stand. So I would say both however if i REALLY had to choose I would go with linear.

I prefer open worlds composed of linear levels

Linear.

But if the world is well made then I like to explore it.

open we all love to explore

Both,
Deus Ex HR is my favorite this gen. FF8 and Deus Ex 1 being my favorite ever.

they both have their advantages. The more linear ones seem to be more polished. The more open ones let you do more things. My main minus on oblivion and fallout, is that their story's and characters aren't very good imo.

And that problem has nothing to do with it being opened.

Linear. I enjoy games like Mass Effect and Fable.

I enjoy play open world games to an extent. I just don't have enough patience to explore everything like in Oblivion and fallout 3, plus the stories never really grab my attention in open world games compared to linear.

I love both

I'm more of an open world person. But linear isn't too bad. Just so long as it's not "linear"

Linear that lets me explore the world. A good example of this would be Chrono Cross. I like the idea of an open-world RPG, but I haven't played a good one as of yet.