Ars Technica - The filler problem: Why Grand Theft Auto is wasting your time.
"Instead, they're just... dull. This filler content serves only to remind the player that, yes, you can walk, drive, and bike from one end of the fictional city of Los Santos to the other. Tailing or towing targets or driving from point A to B to watch a cutscene provides an excuse to motor around an obsessively detailed Los Angeles stand-in. It also raises the question of whether Rockstar's goal was to make a game that's fun to play or a vanity project that's fun to look at."