Well, partly mapping plays a role here - By using good fogs (with fog script) or pictures, you can create an appealing setting. And then weather is useful, as well as screen flash and screen shake effects. Also, using pictures is a great way to make cutscenes more appealing. I've seen a couple people use two horizontal black bars (at top and bottom of screen) to give the impression of widescreen and that made them a little more exciting. Also Show Animation is a nice feature, though it depends on what's happening in the cutscene.