Realism does not make the game, It instead limits the creative ideas that can be implemented in the game because if they make it to creative then it stops being realistic. A guy i used to know back in who owns a PS3 would not touch a Wii because he believed that it was for kids because it had no realistic games on it, as if that wasn't enough i tried showing him Infamous an incredible PS3 game and here is how it went.
Me: Hey have you played Infamous now before you turn it away it is a PS3 game
Him: No haven't heard of it before
Me: 'shows him youtube vid of an early part of the game where you needed to take out some soldiers on a bridge'
Him: WTF he shoots lightning OMG that's so unrealistic im not playing
Me: are you kidding me you won't play it because he shoots lightning
Him: It's unrealistic it's the kind of thing that people who play kiddy games would like
Anyway this argument went on for a while eventually i gave up and just left, there was convincing him of how games do not need to super ultra realistic looking to be good.
Realism works for somethings but not for others, it works for any type of Simulator where (no offence intended) imaginative creativity is discouraged. It however does not work in something that is meant to be a fantasy of some sort where you suspend you disbelief for the time you play it (would you like to see an ultra realistic Mario, Kirby, Samus or Link).
Samus
![[Image: metroid_prime_-_samus_aran.png]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_BirvUCzeN8s/ScxzPH7eyiI/AAAAAAAAAxo/gdLCbVepCuA/metroid_prime_-_samus_aran.png)
Would you believe this thing could save a galaxy, It barely looks like it can defend itself from Rust let alone the Space Pirate hordes
Mario
![[Image: realmario.jpg]](http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/photos/uncategorized/2008/03/17/realmario.jpg)
The nose alone on this thing is enough to frighten any princess into letting herself get kidnapped
Link
![[Image: super-smash-bros-brawl-link-art.jpg]](http://www.wiinoob.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/super-smash-bros-brawl-link-art.jpg)
Link has aged badly but if he looks like this what on earth does Ganondorf look like, poor Zelda caught between a rock and a hard hard place here.
Kirby
![[Image: kirby.jpg]](http://www.halolz.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/kirby.jpg)
KILL IT KILL IT, DEAR GOD WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING