Well, Windows Vista and DX10 are supposed to be the next big thing for PC gaming. Halo 2, after all, will be the first game that requires Vista and DX10... and, I mean, you just know Vista's gonna rock for games if it's the only OS that can render a two year old game running on a 700mhz processor in full glory!

But what about the crappy free games that Windows ships with? Solitaire and Minesweeper and the like? How's Vista going to pimp them up? Will there be any new additions to the arsenal? Here are the games Gamespot takes a look at:

• Solitaire
• FreeCell
• Spider Solitaire
• Hearts,
• Minesweeper
• Chess Titans;
• Mahjong Titans
• Purple Place;
• Inkball

They look blandly attractive, as you'd expect. It's nice to see Windows start shipping with a chess program and a mahjong program, though. Florian Eckhardt

Ed's Note: Halo 2 actually requires DX9.

Windows Vista Free Games [Gamespot]