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Well, my brother got it and brought it down while visiting this weekend. I'd thought I could only run it for this weekend--but hot damn, it works without the disk! HECK YES! More games need to be like that!

Anyway, I think it's way fun. I wasn't able to login to EA due to the CD key already being in use by my brother on his computer where he lives, so that's a TERRIBLE design, and I'm glad it lets you play it without having an EA registration (even though the features are more limited).

The game can only be activated for three different machines. Uninstalling the game and reinstalling on the same hardware configuration won't use up another activation, but reformatting, installing a new OS or replacing the motherboard of your computer will, however. Once you've used up all three activations, you won't be able to activate any more, unless you contact EA support to reset your activations.

This DRM truely sucks, and it's an evil business practice that should be stopped.

Which is why I like the way Stardock (developers of Galactic Civilizations, as well as publishing Sins of a Solar Empire) manages it's DRM. Their games don't even require the CD key to install, the key is only used to log onto their website to download updates. The updates are fairly substantial and actually respond to user reviews on the game itself. Combined with simply contacting torrent sites to take down illegal torrents of their software, they manage to do fairly well while not being a prick to their user base...

The worst part about the restriction - and a part that is not getting enough attention - is that the used program is SecuROM, which has a history of causing serious malfunctions, some of which require complete reformatting to repair.