the graphics are nice.

Sorry, but it looks like Source at high resolution. I'd expect more from id, but to be honest the HL2E2 Source updates and CryEngine 2 push realism so far it's going to be difficult to develop anything tangibly better.

The real success would be to generate graphics of this quality with comparatively lower specs.

Its the physics that count more nowadays. Plus screenshots don't always do a game justice - if all that sand moves in realtime as true particles then it would look amazing. Also people say that graphics are at a pinacle but clearly they are far from it - when we are playing games that look like Cars in HiDef then we will be closer. You can still see round objects made up of straight lines etc... even at full detail levels. It might seem small but these little things are what makes us realise that we are in a game. Even worlds that are alien can be "realistic" looking in terms of graphics, but when we get to those infamous invisible barriers or doors that cannot be passed even with a rocket launcher, our disbelief is not entirely suspended. For me, Far Cry is the closest we have come so far in terms of a complete whole world with good physics.

Check out the high rez trailor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IziSCtJn-fM