A few days ago I was notified Windows had installed new updates (this is on Windows 7 Professional). Generally I ignore the message but I took a look and saw one new update, 'Games for Windows - Live', had been installed. Now I generally expect security updates to go unnoticed, I even prefer it that way, but new features and programs? I'd like to at least be told what they are and what they do before they get installed on my machine.

Curious (and slightly annoyed) I cranked open the start menu and launched the App. What I saw next surprised me - the app looks almost exactly like Windows Live Messenger.

Hmm I thought - has Microsoft just given me some gimmicky new version of WLM with a new feature or two.

Actually no. It's nothing like WLM, which is why the initial sign-in interface causes some confusion. It's actually a browser for Windows Games, which you can download directly to your PC (an end to no CD cracks, at last?).

A while ago, with the release of Vista, Microsoft finally realised the average PC consumer had no idea of the model part of their graphics card, or how much VRAM their system had, or even what a Gigabyte was; they just want a PC that could do things they need. So they come up with the Windows Experience Rating. One number which would represent the gaming performance of your PC, and finally make PC games accessible to everyday people. No longer would kids have to explain to their mothers the intricacies of the nVidia model numbering system in order to ensure they got a Christmas present that worked.

But of course Microsoft, in other stroke of Redmond genius, has completely left out the rating from this huge new catalogue of easily accessible games (Well at the least the 6 or 7 games I looked at on the home-page were lacking the rating). This is either a major oversight or just some sheer idiocy from someone.

PC games have traditionally sold less than their Console counterparts and it's very much down to how much easier it is to buy games for consoles than PCs (unless of course you always have the latest and greatest hardware) - with a console you always know the game will run.

A further cheek was Tinker. Windows Vista Ultimate users got this as an Ultimate Extra. Microsoft then decided to take it away when you upgraded to 7, regardless of which version you bought (even though the Vista version of the program runs fine on Windows 7). And now you can finally download for it free from Windows Live. Well I damn well hope so, I'd already payed for it by purchasing the Ultimate Extras (which as anyone who got them knows were the biggest rip-off by MS since they tried to sell a version of their OS with different default registry keys and claimed they were different versions) so why MS thought they had the right to take it away anyway along with things like Dreamscene I'll never know.

So please Microsoft, if any of you happen to read this - make all games in the games for Windows Live have a Windows Experience Rating. For your own sake.