Yea, the graphics are low poly and low texture, and the animation often jerky and framerate not 60fps.
Actually my jaw hit the floor the first time I played GTA:VC, not having played any GTA games before that I had little idea how the game would look except from screenshots.
But it wasn't because I was so impressed with the graphics, it was because it really didn't look like a PS2 game, but a PSOne game. The fact that the first thing you saw in VC was you standing in some empty alleyway with non-texured walls. That really didn't give a good first impression. After the first shock you stepped into the main street and saw the busy city streets ahead, and you knew this was going to be something special. The next surprise came when you got your first flying vehicle.
In GTA games it's not the highly detailed graphics that make it look good, but the scope and the "feel" of actually being in the environment. Some games have tried to imitate this with better graphics, but fell short on the athmosphere. Maybe it's because of the low detail that it leaves much to your imagination, like when you read a book
without graphics
i just love the feeling of exploration the GTA games have offered, the initial frustration when you're lost in the environment, gradually getting to know the streets.