I found myself actually not spitting at the graphics here. Usually I am biased by that sort of thing, where if a game looks dated there is a good chance I won't pay attention to it.
This very reason is why the majority of the industry will continue to pursue better, shinier graphics for games. Art sells games, not the code behind it. You can't advertise 'gameplay' into any tangible form unlike visuals and audio for the casual passer-bys of store fronts and online ads.