Aww, don't be such a meanie-butt.
Yes, it's been done before, but it's still interesting.
I guess OWI did it for gameplay reasons. It would't be fun playing the game if you had to stop all the time. And in the opening movie of AE, they've been walking the entire day, from morning to evening. Even though Mudokons are physically stronger and hardier than humans, they get tired too. Come on.