this really has nothing to do with gameplay.
Unfortunately too often it does. Tiny maps with lots of transitions have a big effect on gameplay. Goodbye sniper rifle. Who needs it if everything is within a few yards of you. Goodbye AI and monsters following you if all you have to do is lose them at a new map. If all the new graphical bells and whistles means theres no more CPU/GPU left for water, then no swimming, no aquatic monsters, etc.
I suppose what the developer
does with the technology is an important consideration, but one must also consdier what they were given to work with too.