I never owned an Xbox but I am big fan of Bungie from back when they did Mac games (Marathon, Myth). I wanted to try Halo so I played the improved version on a PC. This was all a long time ago but I remember that the graphics looked good and I had a lot of fun with the game. (I also remember a LOT of hallways with shiny aliens in them.)

With Halo3 on the horizon, I decided it was time to give Halo2 a try and continue the story.

I am almost finished slogging my way through Halo2. I say slogging because I am not playing Halo2 on a PC with improved graphics. No, when Microsoft decided to make Halo2 Vista-only, I decided to play the game (for free) on my Xbox 360. I borrowed a copy and put up with the ancient Xbox graphics. (This sure aint no Half-Life2.)

I also say slogging because the game is not that exciting. The vehicles are fun and I enjoy the story but it appears that the main innovation is that you can hold two guns instead of one. Hmmm. Oh yeah, there are some new guns too.

At this point, the only reason I am playing this game at all is the story (and the Arbiter) and I find myself a bit annoyed when they keep making me do missions in between the cut-scenes. (My faith was shaken a bit when they introduced some Little Shop of Horrors Seymour alien plant thing that has power over life and death. Gravemind?)

But if you do like the gameplay, Halo2 still delivers. Like other Bungie titles (and totally unlike Gears of War), this game has a good story and is LONGER than John Holmes. Every time I expect the final cut scene (please!), I get to (have to) play another mission.

All of this is a roundabout way of asking what Microsoft is doing with its Game for Windows initiative?

Making Halo2 require Vista was funny when I first heard it two years ago. Seriously, I burst out laughing. Then I thought it was a web-joke. Alas, the rumor was true and the idea was just as stupid then as it is now.

GFW = Good for Windows (not for Customers)

The Halo2-Vista decision was one of those MBA bright ideas that give MBA's a bad name (and that seem to dominate the Borg-mind in Redmond recently). It was a cheap marketing idea to force customers to buy something they did not want, Vista, to get something they did want, Halo2. But buying an OS is not like buying another program - its a major effort. Who is going buy a new OS and put up with the hassles of installing it just to play a three year old game? Halo2 is older than the Xbox360!

Moreover, Halo2 is not the kind of game one would upgrade their PC hardware to play - it is not even clear that Cysis or Fallout3 will be able to do that. Microsoft's magic appears to be wearing thin when it comes to Vista and DX10. It is still very unclear if games that bet on DX10 will be able to sell enough copies and recoup their investment. (That install base issue we hear so much about on consoles is now relevant to PCs.)

When the GFW initiative was launched a year ago, I had high hopes. Consoles seem to be taking over and if anyone could breath some life into PC games, it was the platform owner - Microsoft. This weekend I went to Circuit City to purchase the new Civ4 expansion on sale and it was depressing. The shelves were so sad that I thought it was 1982 and I was in a bread line in the Soviet Union. When they werent totally empty they were stocked with mixed up, old crap games. (No Civ4 in sight btw - gonna get it with Steam now.)

And mixed in with the PC games only your half-blind great-great-grandmother would buy? A set of large white "Microsoft Games for Windows" banners. Nice to see the marketing collateral made it. Im sure customers will get the message.

I fear for the future of PC games in retail. PC games are fast becoming a "hard-core" ghetto where one has to buy their games online from Amazon or via Steam. Casual games are nice and all but I am starting to have serious doubts whether I will be playing Fallout3 on a PC - or on a PS3. And that is saying a lot.