N-Sider:
I loved nearly everything about the game for the weeks I was into it, with the possible exception of the awkward-to-use projectile-throwing controls.
I didn't really "get to know the town" like some tend to like to do; I turned on the feature to draw GPS arrows on the street and just went careening around as fast as I could. I'd still find random distractions on the way, like new drug dealers, stunt jumps, random missions, or rampages (this game really shines when there's tons of carnage going on at once); tracking these down always paid off.
