since in the original techdemo video of unreal3 they say the models are 10k+ for characters and 2-3 million for the level design.
(thats real not simulated via normal maps)
(I have no ideal what the normal simulation is) 250,000+ per character probably.

Compared to doom3's 2500-3000 poly models(characters), ofcourse it looks good.
And some great artists back it up.

The greatest reason to use "shaders" IMO is to unload work from cpu to gpu.
its not just for fancy effects..heh

"a lot of what makes certain games look impressive is the artwork and tweaking involved, not the core technology"

I Agree, what good is "super go faster stipes+++X enngine" without quality media to render?

But to Answer Mikes question ,
Yes, eventualy...Im sure it will be.

Zmatrix