» Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:05 pm
Already answered to an extent, but worth adding some further clarification...
Games for Windows (GfW) is a certification system by Microsoft - they basically endorse the use of GfW games on their OS. Most games will run fine on Windows, but having the GfW logo means that it's been tested for compatibility with Windows by someone outside of the developer's testing teams - just a little extra reassurance for paranoid people (except that they have to trust Microsoft to be more reliable than the game's developer).
Games for Windows Live (GfWL), on the other hand, is a terrible, terrible alternative to Steamworks. If a game uses GfWL, it's a bad sign. I personally think that, like the obvious and somehow irreparable memory leaks and other issues with the Mac versions of any Microsoft products, the flaws in GfWL are at least partly intentional, because it helps promote Microsoft's preferred products for the uses Microsoft wants them to be for - GfWL being dodgy would make people think the XBox 360 and XBox Live are a much better platform than the PC for multiplayer gaming. Too bad for M$ that someone else is doing it better. Same thing's happened with most of their Mac-based products as well. Funny that.