This is one thing I'm pretty sure won't change. The new console generation may make it possible to have more "PC-like" open levels on consoles, but the console gamers won't magically get any longer attention spans.I think what HR seriously lacked was the Liberty Island / Vandenberg style of level design. The Singapore level was probably the closest to that, having a number of indoor areas surrounded by an outdoor area that you could explore the way you saw fit, but mostly we got Area 51 with some Hell's Kitchen occasionally thrown into the mix. The hubs were fine, the actual levels just didn't really feel like Deus Ex for the most part. You had multiple routes, yes, but all the possibilities (like taking a "stealth" vent or punching through a wall) were usually presented to you straight away, and rather than coming up with a route of your own you usually just picked one out of two or three.
Like Infinitron mentioned, Dishonored did huge level maps outside and inside and was a big hit, and reviewed well. I think when you're making a game for 8-9 year old technology as a base you make hard decisions about outside versus inside and where the walls are and such. I would bet they will open things up more next time. I don't think limited level size was ever about stupid console gamers, they have quest arrows for that problem.