Experience the power of PC gaming

Ask any diehard software enthusiast and they'll tell you: No other gaming platform in the world boasts as broad or high-quality a selection as a Windows PC. But thanks to the Games for Windows brand's steady growth, plus continued support from internal development teams and third-party publishers including Activision, Sega and Rockstar Games though, the best just keeps getting better.

Credit its seamless integration into Windows Vista, a partnership that's serving to welcome an entirely new generation of players to the table. Ongoing advancements are further raising the bar for technical performance and hands-on convenience with each passing day. Because of these strides, featured selections aren't just making major inroads throughout the globe. They're also increasingly appealing to men and women, young and old alike, and expanding to encompass the biggest names and franchises in the field.

For enthusiasts unwilling to compromise on audiovisual impact, gameplay quality, overall value and multiplayer mayhem, there's simply no better choice. So why not step your game up today?

Civilization IV will test your wits, and will to conquer.

Instant benefits

Just a few standard play enhancements Windows Vista owners who purchase Games for Windows titles enjoy straight out of the box:

• Ease of Installation - A standardized setup process ensures Games for Windows titles quickly and painlessly install to your Games folder. Just insert the CD and follow on-screen prompts. Titles are also easy to locate and remove, making it simple to manage your collection.

• Photorealistic Visuals - Thanks to DirectX 10 software which runs behind the scenes and powers high-intensity 3D graphics, you can enjoy dazzling views that stretch across multiple monitors, and at widescreen resolutions home consoles can't match.

• Parental Controls - Using Windows Vista's built-in parental control functions, it's easy to block children's access to games by age rating, content and specific title. It's also possible to limit their computer access to set days and hours if desired – say, after their homework's completed.

• System Compatibility - Extended prerelease testing ensures Games for Windows titles meet specific quality standards, and work with Windows XP and Windows Vista. You can also use the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows and Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows with titles that support game controllers.

• Free Online Multiplayer - With over 14 million members and counting, Games for Windows – LIVE is the first free online multiplayer service to let PC and Xbox 360 owners connect, chat and play with one another. A single identity (the Gamertag) carries across both platforms, letting you team up with friends and earn collectible Achievements for accomplishing in-game goals. You can even sample software or purchase new add-ons or maps in an online Marketplace, or enjoy instant matchmaking features that pair you against players of similar skill level. See here for a full list of compatible titles.

Common features

At odds with the thumb-numbing, white knuckle offerings typically found on consoles, Games for Windows sport several common traits that make them more appealing:

• Intelligent Play - With strategy games (Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts), story-driven epics (BioShock) and detailed simulations (Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania) among the platform's most popular genres, Games for Windows generally require considerable brainpower. In short, they're a great way to build your IQ while killing time. Besides… courtesy of action-packed blockbusters like historical blaster Call of Duty: World at War, high-flying adventure Bionic Commando and James Bond homage Quantum of Solace, you can always enjoy a little mindless mayhem too.

• Responsive Controls - Nothing rivals the precision you'll get from a mouse and keyboard interface, especially in 3D shooters or strategic challenges, today's best-selling software categories. Unless, that is, you're using one of hundreds of optional, gaming enhanced accessories compatible with Windows Vista such as joysticks, steering wheels or wireless pads.

• Tremendous Replay Value - Through the use of mods, downloadable patches, level editors and official updates, Games for Windows constantly change and evolve, giving you more for the money. Consider Fallout 3, which offers a free downloadable toolkit that allows owners to create new adventures and items.

• Unrivaled Selection - At odds with console amusements – which must be approved by system manufacturers prior to launch – home enthusiasts and bedroom coders are fully authorized to program new software for PCs. Meaning that in addition to the many traditional puzzlers, arcade outings and racers you'll enjoy with Games for Windows, independent studios are also free to offer brilliant adventures, stunning battle simulators and entertaining hybrids as well.

Telltale's Sam & Max leads the charge for episodic gaming.

Hot trends

Forget complex sci-fi tales and convoluted fantasy quests that cost $50 a shot and are strictly targeted at teenage males.

New technologies have enabled original types of electronic entertainment in recent months that aren't just instantly familiar and gratifying. They're also cheap and fun for the whole family.

Games for Windows and other Windows Vista titles remain the clear-cut category leader in the following areas:

• Casual Gaming - Casual games (available online or at retail) aren't just enjoyable in short or long-term sessions and suitable for all ages. They're also immediately playable and based on everyday themes like food, fashion and photography, so you can jump right in and start having fun, regardless of skill or experience. See providers like MSN Games, PopCap, iWin, PlayFirst and Big Fish Games for hundreds of instantly downloadable options.

• Massively Multiplayer Online Entertainment - Virtual universes which exist all day, every day and allow you – through a custom-created 2D/3D digital double – to simultaneously interact with and quest alongside thousands of fellow hobbyists. Here's a handy guide to getting started.

• Episodic Gaming - Instead of being sold in a single box, episodic games are divided into bite-size, value-priced installments. New episodes which further an overall storyline debut every few weeks, similar to your favorite television shows. Developers such as Telltale Games and Spicy Horse are leading the way.

• Digital Distribution - Download complete versions of retail products right to your hard drive at steep discounts using services like Steam, GamersGate, Good Old Games or Impulse.

LEGO Indiana Jones lets the good times roll.

Recent/upcoming hits

Ready to see what's got everyone raving? Here are a few recent and upcoming blockbuster Games for Windows that are already wowing critics and consumers alike:

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
From: LucasArts
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+

Reprise the original cinematic trilogy's most memorable scenes while dodging rolling boulders and whipping troublemakers into shape in this comedic spin on the famed archaeologist's escapades.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
From: THQ
ESRB Rating: Pending

Command armies of space marines, orks and humanoid insects into battle in futuristic real-time conflicts, with play characterized by visceral engagements and stunning 3D pyrotechnics.

You'll be blown away by Crysis Warhead.

Crysis Warhead
From: Electronic Arts
ESRB Rating: Mature

A sci-fi first-person shooter so visually arresting that it pushes the limits of even high-end performance PCs. Trigger-mashing online multiplayer options guarantee it's a blast.

Sins of a Solar Empire
From: Stardock Entertainment
ESRB Rating: Teen

Space-age strategy meets high-tech combat. Wield force of arms, diplomacy or business savvy to conquer the cosmos. Its four cornerstones: Explore, expand, exploit and exterminate.

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Gold Edition
From: 2K Games
ESRB Rating: Teen

Ancient history made fun: Select an exotic culture and seize victory by uncovering new lands, researching technology and using trade or aggression to eliminate rivals.

Kung Fu Panda kicks it up a notch.