I'm not so sure expense of shooting is that big of a barrier. For an indie, perhaps a little, but for anyone with half of a budget I don't think it's that big a deal. I mean, these days it's getting downright common to hire Hollywood actors for voice roles, and it's probably close to as expensive if not more to create the 3D likenesses for game use like Ellen Page or Kevin Spacey recently. If YouTube personalities can makes stuff like the AVGN movie or the Happy Console Gamer movie, which is basically out of one man's pocket, I don't see nearly the issue in creative budget.

I do love these games. Psychic Detective on 3DO was my favorite. If you're an importer, check out Combat Queen on PS2. It's goofy fun with production values reminiscent of an early episode of Power Rangers, but with DVD quality. Also, PC-FX has a couple of fun FMV 2-player fighters where you react to each other's input: Battle Heat and Tengai Makyou.