question about the whole Games for Windows thing....

[hulkster]

so im thinking about buying bioshock for my pc...but ill probably do the direct2drive or steam or something like that instead of going to the store to get it.  i know that bioshock has a "games for windows" logo on it, but ive only seen on the actual store box copies.  i want to use my xbox live gamertag and have achievements and all that so im actually WANTING the games for windows stuff when i play bioshock.

that being said, ive never actually bought a pc game ever since the games for windows thing was announced (its been a while).  so i guess my question is two fold...

how does the games for windows thing work?  is it an installed app that comes with the game, or is it just part of the game itself, as in, built into the code?

the reason i ask, is ive looked at the direct2drive sites and it doesnt show the games for windows logo on their copy of bioshock, so are there versions of the game that DONT use games for windows (achievements, ID, etc) or did they just leave off the logo? 

those may seem like dumb questions, but what im getting down to is....i want to make sure if i buy bioshock from a site that does a digital download...i want to make sure i get the games for windows stuff with it.  make sense?

[AtomSmasher]

"Games for Windows" is basically just a certification process mainly showing that the game will install quickly and easily, not that a game has achievements.  What your looking for are game that support "games for windows - LIVE" which only a couple games currently do, and Bioshock is not one of them (regardless of whether you get the retail and download version). 
You can get a list of them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Games_for_Windows_titles
The right two columns are support for Live and achievements.

Also, I would use Steam instead of direct2drive.

[punxrus]

I would have to agree with AtomSmasher, it's all about certification and authentication. Also, Steam really is the way to go. I've been using Steam for over a year now and it's a wonderful service to have! Especially someone like me who cant keep track of their software keys...LOL

[hulkster]

"Games for Windows" is basically just a certification process mainly showing that the game will install quickly and easily, not that a game has achievements.  What your looking for are game that support "games for windows - LIVE" which only a couple games currently do, and Bioshock is not one of them (regardless of whether you get the retail and download version). 
You can get a list of them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Games_for_Windows_titles
The right two columns are support for Live and achievements.

Also, I would use Steam instead of direct2drive.

thanks for the tips.  very useful wiki!