14 DAY TRIAL // There is nothing like a rush of pure adrenaline. And one aspect that Microsoft focused on with Windows Vista is to deliver the necessary adrenaline fix to all fanatics using the operating system as the main platform for gaming. And you don't even have to go "outside" Windows to live on the edge. Windows Vista has it all... danger, suspense, mystery, explosions, actions, interaction... And of course that the obvious answer is Minesweeper. "Minesweeper is a deceptively simple game of memory and reasoning. The object of Minesweeper is to overturn blank squares and avoid those that conceal mines. If you click a mine, the game is over. Uncover all the blank squares as fast as possible for the highest score," Microsoft revealed.
And building on this deceptively simple game, the studio that brought you Silent Hill, Tomb Raider and Resident Evil has taken it one step further and will unveil Minesweeper the movie. Just take a look at the trailer embedded at the bottom of this article in order to get an idea of what it's in store for you. Last time I've heard Microsoft will sponsor a Solitaire soap opera and will help push an interpretation of Mahjong Titans to Broadway. Prepare to be entertained! The only downside is the fact that Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group will not reveal any details about the upcoming blockbusters from Microsoft.
Microsoft currently estimates the number of Windows gamers at over 200 million worldwide, a community built on the exclusivity of the DirectX graphics technology in Windows. Vista makes no exception to this rule and the latest operating system from the Redmond company brought to the table the evolution of DirectX. Moving from version 9.x to 10, the freshest release of DirectX was interpreted as a forced migration to Vista. Citing limitations in both the Windows XP kernel and in the implementation of the DirectX 10 model, Microsoft remained firm on its initial position, that the latest DirectX technology will not be backported to Vista's predecessor. Following Vista's first six months on the market, the Redmond company informed that out of the total 60 million licenses pushed worldwide, over 10 million went to gamers.