Part of me is soured over how much Rockstar whored this game out because of the online feature instead of making cool expansions like they did with previous games, but at the same time I just can't bring myself to hate it, some of the best missions in the series are in it, doing 100% completion was one of the most satisfying experiences I had with a video game. The story is probably the weakest part, though, the three main characters pretty much carry it on their backs, their individual character arcs are well done, but the villains are pretty uninteresting, especially since the game doesn't bother giving them much substance besides being smug pricks, and the last few missions (Big Score and Deathwish) feel rushed and somewhat anticlimactic.

I understand that GTA V has its flaws, but they didn't really hurt my experience with it all that much.

If you really want a cinematic Hong Kong action movie simulator for the PS2, then Rise to Honor might be worth checking out. I'd say the combat gets stale after a while despite its control scheme being fairly unique, but to be honest I don't think this game lasts long enough for that to become an issue. The melee combat and the boss fights remained my favorite things all the way to the end, shooting sections occur every now and then and they do a decent job at adding some variety to the gameplay, but the stealth sections can fuck right off.