This was definitely my favorite childhood game. Me and my friend would stay up all night not sleeping, taking turns when the other would die or get busted.
I loved the wilderness, I would find a camper and find a forest area to "camp"
Best game ever, makes me want to play again. I know I have my Sanandreas disk lying around somewhere.
That is what all the other series was missing, the wide cities and different environments.
I hope the next GTA will have this stuff. I hated the cramped city of GTA IV, only reason I really played it is because of the Euphoria body dynamics and realism.