The upgraded new-age version of San Andreas was unbelievably impressive, but so was Just Cause's interlocking system of islands in their first game. It's no longer enough just to wow people with an expansive game world - you have to do something with it to make people stick around. More often than not, driving through everything from the streets to the deserted Back O' Beyond just made you realise how much you were going through the motions all over again, and not - like San Andreas and Vice City Stories tried with their Turf War or asset management stuff - actually making a worthwhile impact on the city. Granted, GTA V did let you purchase a variety of buildings and holdings, but there wasn't any progression system - all it meant was you'd have a number of phone calls waiting to interrupt the drive to the next mission as someone had made off with some valuable documents or items or whatever - it was never anything worthwhile. Why not allow for areas to be taken over, money to be invested properly in various things like shop fronts and the establishment of safe zones whereby if a certain street of city block is under your control, you can go gun-crazy without fear of the omnipotent police randomly assigning you a wanted level? Basically, there should be a defined sense of level progression between where you enter the world and come out of it, not just a tick-box list of buying things for the sake of something to spend your millions on.
