Procedural content like this adds a nice random, exploratory feel to a game. It's also really interesting in that it allows the programmer to leverage their skills in the creation of game art (still needs some artistry in the tweaking though).

This is a really nice tutorial, it breaks down how all these magical in-game landscapes are just different noise & gradient textures multiplied together, and how it can easily be extended from 2D to 3D.

Here's to gently rolling hills of perlin noise :)