Buzzscope has an article by David Rodriquez that discusses the over abundance of cutscenes in games. He is disgusted that the time spent playing a game is nothing more than a means to get from one cutscene to another.

...We’re supposed to bemaking games, and instead we are making ridiculous, half-assed movies.

Movies are linear, passive entertainment. You sit there and watch thestory the creators have laid out for you. You have no control over theoutcome. ... but why in the name of all that is holy would youwant your VIDEO GAME to do that, too?

After reading the entire article, I can agree with some of his points. I have been in more than a couple of cutscenes that I just wanted to skip in order to get back to the game. However, what kind of games does that leave us with? The Sims?