Yeah, San Andreas had so much crazy stuff to do. It will be nice if they've learned their lesson from RDR, and can incorporate content which isn't directly subservient to "Sam Houser's (Dan's?) Oscar-level narrative." I just want to run around and do stuff in that world!
Max Payne 3 is a lot of fun, but it's a linear shooter, with only minimal exploration and collectible stuff going on. Hell, the main thing tracked there is labeled "Grinds." That's pretty much what it is. But it's a different game than GTA or RDR -- Still, it doesn't make me hopeful about GTA V being more open and based in emergent gameplay, if they've decided that GTA IV had it right.