Though I have mixed feelings about FTII in general, including the graphics, I think it's pretty outrageous to go and whine to no end about that shot. It's obviously from a game that is still in progress. Ben isn't casting shadows, and isnt affected by the light around him, making it look very washed out, boring, and dated. If you look at any of the other FTII media that is out, it looks a lot more like you'd expect to see from a FT game.
I think that despite cheezy mugging and smiling all the time, that Ben model is spot on. You couldn't ask for much better in a 3d rendition of our favorite biker, except maybe a few more polygons. Even though this expression (
http://www.mixnmojo.com/php/site/newsimage.php?id=546&sdate=09032002&image=0&category=advnews) isn't necesarilly a face you'd ever expect Ben to make during Full Throttle 1, that Ben model is conveying about a million times more personality than they ever managed to get out of the characters in EMI. Or any of the 3D Star Wars games for that matter.