The Windows Live service which has been the talk of a lot of PC and Xbox 360 gamers has finally launched. It debuted last July 1 with the release of Shadowrun, the first game which allows both PC and Xbox 360 communities to have 16-player matches online. Another game that will take advantage of this service is Halo 2 which will be coming out this May 8. The question is, is it worth it?

To see if the service is worth the time and money, we'll have to discuss both the service and the launch title.

The Windows Live service. The service itself is really good with the free Silver option (for those who don't want to pony up additional cash) and with the Gold subscription for the more hardcore players. What most have been worrying about is the connection between the Xbox 360 to the PC and the possible lag that the interface of both systems might experience.

Shadowrun on Windows Live. However, Shadowrun is another story. Most of the people who ponied up the US$ 60 for the game have pointed out that it has potential. The gameplay is great and the graphics are passable. The concerns that most people have are both the pricing and the fact that it's an online-only game with three modes of play. It has nine single-player training missions, so you'll really need to play online. When you do get online, there are only three modes of play so you don't really get much bang for the buck.

On the bright side, the first update is already rumored to be in the works. In addition, this has the potential to be a really great game if the community really gets behind it. If not, well, it flops... bad.

Those things said, it's not really such a bad launch for Microsoft's Windows Live. We'll just have to wait and see if the community really rallies under this new standard or decides to ignore it.