I never played it but I have heard of it. I play something really similar and it was inspired by the San Andreas mod. It's called "Takistan Life: Revolution" for Arma 2: Combined Operations (Arma 2+Operation Arrowhead). Arma 2 is a war simulator so it is more military oriented (even though you can be a civilian). It is set in the country of Takistan, your classic middle eastern country in the midst of a revolution.
There are 4 classes:
- Civilian
- Independent (Terrorist)
- OPFOR (Taskistan Army)
- Bluefor (US Army)
- Cops
Each class has different perks and activities. All classes have a bank account and you get paid every 3 minutes. You can withdraw money from ATM's. Money serves various purposes. You use it to buy weapons, various civilian licenses (gun license, driving license, pilot license), training if you are military, bribes, jail bail and a lot more.
The world can handle over 100 players and it is 100% open world.
There are shit-loads of activities available.
Drug Running: You can harvest drugs from different types of fields/places (weed, coca plant, LSD) and load your truck/car/SUV/chopper with the drugs and drive to the selling point to make a quick buck. The roads are dangerous though and filled with cops so you need to be careful.
Private Military Contractor (mercenary): If you are a civilian, you can become a PMC and work for the highest bidder. PMC's can do everything from protecting criminals, guns for hire or even helping the cops keep the order in Takistan.
Scavenger: You can scavenge the land for supplies and then sell them. You can steal cars and sell them for some good money.
Cop: Your job is to keep the order in Takistan. You can impound cars, restrain suspects, jail suspects. Your vehicles even include a police siren.
Military (OPFOR/BLUFOR): Your job is to kill OPFOR or BLUFOR members. Both factions kill independents.
Terrorism: Only independents participate in terrorist activities. Terrorists can buy car bombs, suicide bombs, time bombs, remote bombs and then use them to blow shit up. Mainly BLUFOR members and cops.
Pilot: If you enjoy teamwork, you can save money to buy a chopper or plane. You can use your aircraft to provide support from the air or simply to drop your fellow teammates behind enemy lines so they can surprise the enemy.
Bank Robber: You can rob the national bank. Be careful though, the bank is heavily guarded by cops and when you rob the bank, you are actually stealing from other players so some of them might send some guns for hire to kill you.
The game also has great features like car keys, allowing you to lock your vehicles.
I could explain further but the possibilities are endless. Arma 2: Combined Operations is only 30 bucks on Steam. Theres also another great mod for Arma 2 called "DayZ". A FPSMMO zombie survival. You should look up videos for both Takistan Life and Dayz.