Play Xbox Live games on the Web? Sort of…

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If you’ve been looking for a way to play Xbox 360 games online (and by that I mean, on the web, not through Xbox Live), well then Microsoft has you covered. Sort of.

Microsoft has created Web Games for Xbox Live. These games are fully playable classics, which you can play right from your browser. Microsoft is kicking off the service with only four games, but they are recognizable titles: Bejeweled 3, Plants vs. Zombies, Zuma’s Revenge, and Text Twist 2. Right now, the games include leaderboards to compare your scores with other friends playing the web versions of the games, using your normal Windows Live ID and Xbox Live Gamertag. The games are feature filled and run great, although, for all intents and purposes, they are demos of the full game. So far I’ve just had to put up with a few advertisements for products and services I already use, so they don’t bother me too much. It’s not like scented soaps are trying to get me to play Zuma.

In fact, the only really bad news I could really find was just that the games don’t support achievements! Other than that, it’s a nice, simple, safe way to pass the time online, without having to go to some questionable flash-game websites. Just make sure you have Silverlight installed.