Microsoft launches Game Advisor

With more than a little fanfare, Microsoft brought its new game-advice service online this week. The Windows XP Game Advisor will offer little new information to hardcore gamers. However, the site's easy-to-use design will provide newcomers a non-threatening resource for game advice.

Combination game finder, ratings filter, and hardware sleuthing tool, the Games Advisor is described by Microsoft as a "tool that sorts through a variety of genres and age-group choices to present the best matches for them." It allows users to filter about 100 listed games by genre and age group. The advisor will even check if your computer can handle a particular game's demands via a remote hardware scan--just as long as you're running XP.