I didn't read through all the posts, but right now I'm playing Mount & Blade, which is fairly inferior in the graphics department. But I'm loving the gameplay!
I believe it has also managed some success from a business standpoint, but I don't have any numbers to back that up.
Braid is different, it is purposefully stylized to look like that. AoC and M&B would both probably be happy to look a lot better if given the chance.