You shouldn't use the elements just to use them, they should be used to make things better. Let's take a case like Madden football or whatever it's called. In this game, you play American football and everything looks and is somewhat realistic. Personally, I think games like this are terrible. They're slow, boring and they do not come even close to replicating the experience of a real football game. From this point of game, what changes could be made to make it better?

I'll use an old game as an example. The game was called Mutant League Football. Instead of real players, it had things like skeletons and mutants. Instead of real stadiums, the stadiums were in space, volcano's or stuff like that. Instead of only the normal plays, which were there, you had special plays. There were any number of special plays that are completely unrealistic. One of them was where you wired the football with a bomb. The play was to pass the ball to one of your receivers, deliberately allowing the other team to intercept. Upon interception, the player exploded. After that, the player was out for the game.

Personally, I always enjoyed Mutant League Football and have never enjoyed realistic football games. MLF was football with extra things to make it more enjoyable. Re-making the game could turn out great, with modern graphics and internet multiplayer. Imagine, in full 1080p, all the exploding skeletons and mutants falling to their deaths through holes in the field. Some people, maybe they will always prefer realism because they suck and i'm awesome, but there is always a market for those people like me, who are awesome and don't suck.