Thats kinda crazy. You cant really individually control a single LED, you always lite 2 or more LEDs at a time.
I think the open/short detection is a feature found on other LED drivers too, and not specific to crossplexing, but rather specific to using constant current LED drivers.
I guess there is some benefit, in that its lighting multiple LEDS at a time, but it also seems limited, in that you lose some control of what LEDs are lit, in that you cant light one LED without lighting another one too.