glad that you comment it, Jonas.

I have played GTA:SA for about 4 hours now, and even though I have only scratched the surface of the game, I have one thing quite clear. I am bored.
Of course the game has the sandbox brilliance of the previous GTAs, plus some new vehicles, interesting minigames (I've so far tried two different retro games, basketball and pool), and a huge map.
But it is too much. Too many things to do, too much to explore. And not casual frindly like VC. In VC I could just take a car, drive around, do some stunts, and have a lot of fun with the self ironic gameworld. SA is all about seriousness, yo, dog, you know what I mean? In hip hop terms, VC was Eminem (light, rythmic, a little bit serious and quite fun), while SA is more Public Enemy (heavy, thick, serious and ocasionally funny).
It's not that I'm against this kind of things: it just goes against GTA style, I think. As I said, too many things to do does not increase the "immersion" (but it's certainly worth the money.
And the fat issue: it is annoying. If I did not have a life, I would like to customize my character as much as possible. But I do have a life, and it does not take place in San Andreas. I am not willing to spend 40+ hours in a game just because I have to stay fit and drive a cab and do pimp missions and finish the narrative ...
I think Rockstar North had the magic potion in VC: perfect for casual gaming and for hardcore gaming as well. SA seems to me a gift for those die-hard players, and it makes me bored.
Anyway, I need to play it more. Perhaps I should start a blog to make more comments on SA ...
Oh, two positive things about the game: driving motorcycles is much, much better than in VC (f*ck the BMX, that's for silly teenagers: get one of the sweet police motorbikes and race a train: now that was something ...). And the soundtrack is very cool, no matter what a bunch of 80's nostalgic game critics say. I mean, it has Alice in Chains plus Public Enemy plus Maceo Parker plus James Brown.
Pity you have to play the game to listen to it. Or not.

Cheers,

Mr. Silencio