You are right, nice looking stuff are great, like I said, "graphics are cool", which means like the next gamer, I prefer better looking stuff, but it is by far not my biggest concern. If the game simply shows "what the PS3 can do" and do nothing more or nothing better than the other GoD, I won't buy it. I bought that aquarium thing on PSN, and it does nothing else than show you a few nice looking fishes. I don't "play" it.
Every other articles says, look look, that game will show the true power behind that monster, just like a "final" boss you keep encountering in a game. He comes back with better powers each time. Who cares, I want good games and good fights. GOW3 could look anyway it wants, if it's just another GOW and nothing more, I've beaten it before buying it. Sure graphics are cool, but I play awesome games on the PSP and still play old games. That surely isn't always because they're good look...
I don't play twice a game that I completed entirely, unless it has a story like any RPG.
I was just talking with my friend the other day about how it's now too easy to just look up on the net for a way to solve that new puzzle. Just the other day I was playing GoW 2 since I never did it before. Every time I was stuck for more than 20 seconds I just went straight to gamefaqs.
Back in the days I used to spend a lot of time trying to figure out anything and everything in my games, not anymore... Is it better now or not? I guess it's a matter of opinion.