Agreed (although VC>SA imo ). I like how the older games weren't restricted to one way of finishing the game. The goal was to get your hands on a certain amount of money in whichever way you see fit. Get a tank and mayhem till you reach a million? Works. Finish rampages all over town? Works. Oh, and the missions work too.
I also liked the gang & rivalry system. Finish a mission for one gang, you piss off the other. It had more freedom in which missions you wanted to do and for which faction you wanted to work. I wish they brought that back in GTA.