People still play Diablo II? They must, considering Blizzard continues to pump out patches for its eight-year old title. Whenever I start to think about how impossible this scenario is, I remind myself that people still play Solitaire too. Hey, if a game's addictive, it's addictive.

Along with a reset of the competition ladder, the patch removes the game's ancient copy protection. If this gives you any trouble, Blizzplanet has a fix that should sort you out.

Diablo II Patch Information [Blizzard]

Despite some hand-wringing by fans, EA today announced that their hugely anticipated Will Wright game Spore will not make use of SecuROM's 10-day periodic re-authetication and instead use a modified version to require online authentication.

The announcement comes on the heels of news that Mass Effect will also be ditching the ten day re-authentication.

Read More »

When Mass Effect comes to the computer it will not use SecuROM's 10-day periodic re-authentication and instead will instead use a modification to do only a one-time online authentication, Bioware announced today.

The developer said the decision came after listening "very closely" to its fans and that the new system will also allow gamers to play the game without the DVD in the drive.

The system will allow gamers to authenticate their game on just three computers, but EA does have the ability to give additional authorisations if they are warranted.

Hit up the jump for the official FAQ and to let us know what you think about this change of heart.

Read More »

EA and BioWare are employing SecuROM for the PC release of Mass Effect, a copy protection scheme you may recall from its universally loathed inclusion in 2K's BioShock. The Mass Effect SecuROM annoyance factor may be much more extreme, as the game requires that the owner authenticate the copy every ten days, meaning that an internet connection is required to play the game from the get-go and until eternity. In other words, if you paid for your copy of Mass Effect, expect to remind EA's authentication servers every week and a half that you aren't stealing it.

The official Mass Effect FAQ explains it all.

For instance, you can install your copy of Mass Effect on three separate machines, but all must be internet enabled if you expect to play the game you paid for, as SecuROM will check every time you run MassEffect.exe. This sort of overprotection is nothing new, as "Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and Mass Effect all use SecuROM in some manner" says the FAQ.

Concerned? Pssh! Don't be! The Mass Effect PC FAQ says EA Support is ready for a beating.

Read More »

People still play Warcraft III. In fact, heaps of people play it. If it's not your run-of-the-mill tournament play, then it's DoTA, or tower defense, or some other popular custom map.

Blizzard has seen fit to reward their loyalty by removing the initial CD check from the game's start-up. That... and the company realised the game has been out so long, that those who wanted to pirate it did so a long time ago.

You may remember Blizzard removed the CD check from its RTS Starcraft late last year. Seeing as players of both games spend most of their time on Battle.net, which requires a legitimate CD key to use, the check has simply become an annoyance for paying customers.

Warcraft III Patch Announcements/Updates [Warcraft III forums]

As if 2K wasn't taking enough flak from yesterday's widescreen debacle, now gamers who have spent their hard-earned cash on the PC version of BioShock are finding that they can only install the game twice, ever. The game uses SecuROM copy protection, which verifies the install of the game remotely, disabling further installs once the game has been installed twice. This means if you are the type of person like me who formats your computer frequently to to get rid of generic crap buildup, you are screwed. If you frequently shift around games to free up space, you are screwed. If you are a pirate...well, you'll probably come up with a work around, so at least the criminals are safe, right? Be gentle with the link below. Seems 2K's forums are getting slammed for some odd reason.
How many installs do we get ? Transfer of ownership ? [2K Forums - Thanks Seiru!]