Well after playing for an hour and a half(in between bouts of work of course) and came across no issues with being booted of the server and everything went quite well.
I will save you the reviews as I'm sure you have read/seen them all before.
And this is exactly why Ubisoft (and others) expect to get away with it, people can't or won't sacrifice a few days or weeks to hit them where it hurts... their pockets.
I am not chastising you or anything but, this is just what's going to happen with kids that have Mom or Dad buy all sorts of games for them and UBI knows it and that's all they care about... counting that money and walking with it straight to the Bank.
It is stated that when and if that happens... they will patch and take the DRM off. This is a big IF though as Ubi's not good on making promises or support their games.
Here's something a member on the UBI forum posted about the ongoing DRM thread.
And here's the link to the whole thread... 62 pages worthGaming has hit an all time low thanks to UBI Soft. If you didn't like draconian DRM schemes, you're going to hate UBI Soft's new policy: you must be connected to their servers 100% of the time to play Assasin's Creed 2. If you don't have internet, or if your internet is out, or if you are on vacation, stationed in Iraq, or want to play at the airport, you are out of luck. No game for you. That in itself is very troubling and reason enough to NOT BUY THIS GAME. However, there are additional reasons that are even more troubling:
1) Setting the prescient for future games
If gamers buy Assasin's Creed despite this huge limitation on game play, it will open the door to many more games like this in the future. That would be awful for the consumer.
2) Turning 'owning' into leasing"
Tying games to some sort of server for activation is bad enough, but making them DEPENDENT on a server is horrible for the consumer. It takes away our rights (to play the game we paid for on our terms) and creates a system whereby you are simply LEASING a game. If at some point UBI Soft decides to take down their servers, you lose your game. They can take away your rights to play the game at any point in the future if they decided to. They have you by the cajones! If you give into this model, expect to never own any digital medium again; the makers of games, producers of music, and distributors of movies would love to see our current model of OWNING a physical copy of your game \ album \ movie replaced with a system where you only own the 'right' to access \ play that medium. It's their wet-dream to turn the current system of ownership on its head so they can re-sell you things endlessly as well as take them away from you at their discretion. As a consumer, it's important that we speak out against this by supporting DRM free games (Mass Effect II, Dragon Age, Fallout III, etc...) and DRM free music (buy it from Amazon!) and REFUSE to buy this junk with built in limitations and restrictions that SERVE NO PURPOSE.
3) Making games dependent on 'phoning home' means you're at the total mercy of UBI Soft (or whomever runs their servers)
If their servers are down, you lose access to your game. If their servers are overtaxed, you may experience problems connecting to your game. Think that isn't likely? Think again. Currently (03/09/2010) the servers have been down for the last 12 hours or so, creating chaos for all those who expected to be able to fire up Assassin's Creed. It doesn't even matter if UBI Soft is malevolent or not; if your service provider has a bad week you may be out of luck. If there is a storm in your area, you could end up out of luck for weeks (this happened to me when a tree knocked out my cable internet for 9 says straight--I thought I was going to die). You're screwed if your internet, their servers, or anything along the line between the two goes down.
4) DRM is pointless (and this online restriction is one of it's worst forms!)
Want to pirate games? It's tragically easy these days. Even more tragic is that DRM, supposedly designed to prevent piracy, is a total failure at actually accomplishing that. Want proof? Google "Spore + DRM + Piracy" and see what you come up with. I'll give you a hint: Spore was pirated BEFORE it was officially released. Many games are unto torrent sites well before their release date. The worst part of this is that the pirated versions are in almost all cases SUPERIOR to the DRM infested versions: they don't contain the invasive, crippling, and destructive DRM that past games have been ruined by (Bioshock, Mass Effect I, Spore, etc...). I am NOT ADVOCATING PIRACY. I think you should buy the games you want to play. I am advocating NOT BUYING games that violate your basic consumer rights (right to resell your game, right to play your game WHENEVER you want to without restrictions). If a game limits those rights, I say skip it entirely. Because UBI SOFT are morons doesn't give anyone the right to steal. As your Mom (or at least mine) used to say: two wrongs don't make a right!
I am not opposed to simple DRM schemes (disk check, or even Steam which has established very good rapport gamers by being both consistent, fair, and show a long track record of stability). I am totally opposed to anything that PREVENTS ME FROM PLAYING THE GAME that I paid money for. I don't want to see this standardized (and I don't think it will be) and so it's time to take action NOW and refuse to buy this garbage.
The bottom line is DRM is not and has never been about preventing piracy. It's about CONTROL. Control over you and how you are able to play the very game you paid your money for. It's about wrenching ownership away from the consumer and replacing it with something much lesser: rental \ leasing. Don't let them do that to you.
Final Thoughts:
UBI SOFT and those like them have got to be taught a lesson. The only way to get heard by these huge companies is by hitting them where it hurts: their pocketbook. Refuse to buy this game or games like it that infringe on your rights. Tell your friends not to buy it. Write reviews that inform people about the risks of doing so. That's how you get things to change. To the inevitable trolls who will tell me that DRM should just be 'given in to,' I'd like to point out that currently game makers are MOVING AWAY from DRM schemes. The reason is because of the backlash against pointless restrictions by those like myself who are unwilling to sit around and watch PC gaming be ruined by greedy scumbags. It's because of grassroots action (Spore for example) that the tide has turned and that DRM is now much less common than it was a year ago. Top shelf games are being released DRM free. You know what? I've bought all of them and recommend you do the same. Let's all give our money to the makers of games that RESPECT us--after all, WE ARE THE CUSTOMERS. Enough said.
Ubisoft Online Services - DRM discussion - Topic Powered by Social Strata
Sorry, but I'm going to take Ubi's side for a minute....
Ubi soft like any other company has a right to protect their products. Period. It's no different than any other company, other then we're talking about digital files/media. Piracy IS a big problem and DOES COST companies millions of dollars. True, not every pirated copy is a sale, but collectively it does add up. i.e. if a game is pirated a thousand times in one day, you can be pretty sure that at least half those could have been potential sales had piracy not been available. Say pirated game costs $49.99 times 500 = $24,995. That’s twenty five thousand dollars lost in one day!
That's a lot of lost revenue, which in turn can cost jobs! While Ubi's solution may seem intrusive and extreme, they're trying to protect an investment, and they have a right to do so.
Have some anti-piracy measures caused problems…yes! We need look no further then the issue with UBI Soft now, but that’s the cost of doing business in the piracy world we live in now.
And no, I don’t like DRM either, and tend to view it as an inconvenient mess, but that hasn’t stopped me from buying games. Why???
Because I personally never had an issue with a DRM protected product other than having to load the "original" disc to play the game. And contrary to popular myth, neither has most of the general public. Yeah, there’s always exceptions to the rule, but let’s honestly not try to turn it into the majority.
Personally I think the loudest Anti-Piracy group are the pirates themselves as they have a vested interest in seeing anti-piracy measures go away.
However pirates do not have any more rights to steal software for whatever reason anymore than I would if I walked in a brick and mortar store and stole it off the shelf. It’s still thievery! The fact that it's digital media doesn't justify this thievery.
The problem is many of us look at piracy from an individual point of view and see it as a harmless victimless crime of low cost, but rarely look at it from a corporate point of who's losing millions of dollars to piracy.
I can guarantee that if most of us was dealing in digital media and found ourselves being pirated and losing money we'd change our tunes quick.
And lastly, to be clear here, we’re not talking about people who buy a legitimate copy of a game or media file and make copies for their own use. That is entirely a different debate, and not one for here.
My two cents.
I will jump in here, because I think people are upset for stupid reasons.
1) You must be connected to activate/play:
I honestly don't understand why this is necessary. What does it do? What effect does it have? How can it stop a game if it is pirated (except to drop its connection)?
I can understand the sentiments here, though I have never really had a problem with this.
2) The "principle" of it
This one is controversial, but falls under the category of: "I bought it, I have nothing illegal or to hide, therefore it is NOT A BIG DEAL".
The only real issue that anyone should have with this is that their pirated copy will stop working.
While I agree that a lot of people don't like the feeling that they are being watched, etc, this is just not a big deal unless you are a pirate.
3) It's inconvenient
No it's not, stop complaining.
With the rigs people build, this is NOT a problem.
4) DRM doesn't work/is pointless
It DOES work, and its not pointless. If no one pirated, then it would be.
But they do. (Would you like it if someone routinely stole your hard work?)
Please note that I am not taking their side. I think that this is way extreme and stupid, though it would not stop me from buying the game if I really wanted it.
On the other hand, I think they people that are really against this are taking it way too far. Just don't buy the game.
Flame on.
~Lordbob
Well, actually what I'm basically saying is that the matter of "inconvenience" truly depends on the actual user. Quoting gamespot's video review, "Want to play at your grandmom's house? Did a storm knock out your internet? Sorry, you're out of luck"
And the quote, I just find it funny to use it here since you sign your posts and, we're in an AC thread, after all (remember the email from that old guy to that AC girl?).
Ah, true enough.Well, actually what I'm basically saying is that the matter of "inconvenience" truly depends on the actual user. Quoting gamespot's video review, "Want to play at your grandmom's house? Did a storm knock out your internet? Sorry, you're out of luck"
And the quote, I just find it funny to use it here since you sign your posts and, we're in an AC thread, after all (remember the email from that old guy to that AC girl?).
You are right about the user name thing. I sign it out of habit, and that some users may not be in the habit of actually looking up to see the user posting.
It really only makes sense if you sign it with a real name, such as Ted or Nigel.
But I do it anyways.
~Lordbob
EDIT: It also gives a final end feeling to my post. If that makes any sense
Yup, it doesEDIT: It also gives a final end feeling to my post. If that makes any sense
UBI's DRM is the one that doesn't
Quote
