So I've managed to miss out on the Grand Theft Auto franchise almost entirely. Problem is, the kids at the school where I work haven't. Keep in mind it bothers me to hear constantly that a 7 year-old is playing an M rated game because their parents are pathetic. That said, I'm a gamer. Unlike most adults and other teachers, I really don't have a good excuse to be completely unaware of the contents of the the game. My wife (a teacher at the school) and I (the pianist for the school) have decided to play some GTA sometime in the near future to be a little more informed and culturally aware.

So here I am, a GTA virgin, and I have questions. Much like the MGS (and seemingly more so) the GTA series is fairly complicated to me from the outside. It's on many platforms and apparently has various exclusive expansions and whatnot.


So for those in the know, let me know all I need to know about GTA. I'm specifically interested in the more recent stuff and may work my way back at least to San Andreas since it's been mentioned specifically by many kids at my (mostly black) school.

All platforms are available to me. PC, 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, DS (and Wii, though I don't recall any GTA games for that one). I want to know specifically about exclusive expansions/DLC, how it works, how the portable versions differ or where they are exclusive (as I understand CTW is portable exclusive).

Thanks in advance.