As the article implies I suspect it's the ease with which they can be decomposed. Before Red Faction I don't recall many games with destroy anything capabilities. Yet there were some experiments to do just that with voxel engines. Ken Silverman being the one I'm most familiar with, though besides some weapon models I don't think much of that made it into commercial games.
Most destruction in Battlefield games is pre-baked. For smaller stuff, the artists only specify how as segment of wall is supposed to break up. For larger stuff, like toppling skyscrapers, it's entirely a canned animation.
