This was a fairly early game in this gen and the graphics are not all that great. I actually still think other than Nikko the game was great. Red Dead Redemption proves that as developers get more time at learning new engines and different platforms that they can do bigger and better looking work. Going back to most games from the first two years of this gen and they look like a pile of garbage compared to what they are now. This is the case for every gen as the ps2's early games were abysimal compared the later games. Just compare GTA 3 to GTA: San Andreas graphic wise and there are obviously better graphics for San Andreas.
Basically, I think your whole post is full of fallicy and does not take into account that as developers become more fimiliar with the systems their work with the final product easily improves.
