This can be useful. Games such as Myst take advantage of it. But it can also be a game killer. Games that are not trying to tell a story but use 3D tend to have a more static look. These games use sprite animation.
Sprite animation occurs when small animations or images are moved across a larger background.
This is how most all games worked before real time 3D became the new rave in game development. Two completely different ways to integrate 3D content into a game, of which both are still used and still useful. There major difference being that one immerses players in a 3D environment which looks and moves more like real life, while the other tends to be more static and of a higher quality. These two factors can both be a very important basis for a game. In the future, consumers will have access to more powerful computers that will blur the line between prerendered and real time quality.