http://culture.vg/features/commentary/k ... i-map.html
I played Red Dead Redemption like this after originally reading the article a few years back, and while it was harder to navigate around than in a GTA, due to the lack of urban features, it was still very doable and improved the experience tremendously, so I adopted the system and used it in GTA5 as well.
So there you have it: the one essential essay ever published on Kotaku, as far as I am aware. Props to Kirk Hamilton for keepin' it real despite working at one of the worst big videogame websites ever.