They really nailed the over the top 80's atmosphere in VC, and I'm too young to remember those. It had it problems, production quality of the newer ones is much better I agree.
Also I thought the world size was just right, I only played SA half way through or so.
Mainly because it felt, to me, that it took forever to get from one spot to another. The countryside was huge, and there wasn't a really straightforward way to get from one town to another without spending ten minutes traversing the countryside. But I know some people that actually enjoyed that. Also, the erh... 'thug life' storyline just isn't my thing.
Also, Tommy was amusing and CJ acted like he only had half a braincel most of the time
Haven't played 4, my brother has it on PS3, looks nice though, probably should give it a try.