Microsoft’s recent push to mark Windows Vista as a gaming platform has been supported by the release of Halo 2 and Shadowrun, both of which make use of Games for Windows Live. While many think it’s a step in the right direction, others believe it to be nothing but a nuisance, with first complaints being that it feels incomplete.

The Hushed Casket takes a look at the things that are wrong with the service, all of which are valid points to say the least. Here’s a bit:

XBOX Live users have it so much better. It’s not the same experience. People communicate via webcams, voice messages, text messages, and Windows Messenger without having to be inside of a game to do it. They download movies. They rent movies. They download demos and patches. They can even buy games. Not to mention that is has one slick user-interface.

Games for Windows – Live doesn’t offer the same experience. Even the user interface is plain. You can’t add custom themes. There are no “blades”. You can’t connect to a marketplace to download or rent movies or TV shows. You can’t download demos or buy arcade games. Basically, you can only join up to games and send communications to other players from within a GFW – Live game. I won’t go into how the interface has XBOX 360 controller buttons sprinkled all over it. But my point is that Games for Windows – Live is missing some major features that we’ve grown accustomed to with XBOX Live.