If you have to install CentOS, or you just want to have a nosey, the best way to install it is using the Netinstall CD.
I followed this little guide: http://www.chrisgountanis.com/technical/45-centos-netinstall.html, and it worked out great.
I chose the raw base system install in the graphical installer. It downloaded about 400-500mb of data, installed the packages and after a quick reboot left me with a console screen in vmware, exactly what I wanted.
The only trick was to make sure I was pointing to the right folder in the mirror’s ftp/http directory.