I get what you're saying and agree, OP. Mind-blowing graphics are amazing, but they don't make a game good. On the heirarchy of what makes a game good, graphics go into the "icing on the cake" category. Meaning they can make a game better by being better (and by graphics I don't neccesarily mean poly count or lack of jaggies, because well done 2D games or a well done DS game is "better" than a crappy done 2D game or DS game, and it may not have to do with resolution or jaggies) but they are not a core part of what makes that game good. Of course there is a baseline, I mean if you can't tell the difference between your character and a tree, well that's going to affect the gameplay.
I really think it's a function of the fanboy spazgazm that is the interwebs. Or I like to call it "You piss on my leg and I'll piss on yours, and we'll see who gets wetter."
