Here's a rare find for you – Microsoft is giving something away for FREE!
Well... sort of.
Gamers of the internet, lend me your monitors! Today I'd like to talk a little about this free puzzle game – Tinker! (That's him in the picture over on the right. Cute little guy, isn't he?)
Usually, when I write about a free game download, I try the game out myself. Not so much this time around, and I'll explain why in a bit. Read on.
Tinker is an adorable but stoopid little robot, and as you play the game, you have to guide him through sixty levels of puzzles and mechanisms – navigate switches, ramps, teleporters and lasers in a clockwork world that is beautifully rendered in 3D. The game looks amazing, and just exactly like the sort of think I love. Brain-bending challenges, complete with a little mechanical patsy I can blame when I make a mistake. What's not to love?
Well, there's a catch.
In order to get Tinker for free, you have to download Games for Windows – LIVE.
A lot of you are already big-time gamers, and between your PC and your XBox games, you may already have Games for Windows – LIVE installed. Good for you, have a free game of Tinker!
For the rest of you, a little bit of gamer lore you may not know. GfW-L has been around since 2007, and Microsoft intended it to be a great resource for gamers. It would update codecs and DirectX without hassling the player, authenticate their games, serve as a marketplace and enhance gaming enjoyment while deterring piracy and generally making the world a better place – a goal in which it has failed in every way.
Most gamers revile it – some will avoid buying games that require it entirely. It adds layers of hoops you have to jump through to install and play your games, and it... well, you can Google it if you like.
Tinker looks great, and if you're a casual gamer the download of GfW-L probably won't bother you much, if at all. Go for it. It looks like tons of fun.
If you're a more serious gamer, I leave the decision in your hands. Tinker really does look like a winner, and a brilliant piece of work. You just have to make the call – is this free game worth the price?
Get It »
