Graphics are great but new fresh and fun gameplay is where its at.
I'll never forget how much fun I had when I played games like
Castlevania SOTN
Sonic 2
Resident Evil 1
Halo
Zelda Link to the Past
Metal Gear Solid
Geometry Wars 2
FEAR
Half life 2
etc
And it isn't just because some of them had awesome graphics at the time...