I swear that is true. I went out for medical supplies and ended up destroying my truck clearing infestations. I don't know if there is any other game like this on consoles.
I know it's not exactly the same thing but playing ES Online has a similar effect, you go on your way to do a mission/quest and get sidetracked with something else. I've been putting a lot of time into that game this last week and I'm enjoying it.