Publisher Ubisoft has become unpopular with PC gamers over the last year or so, thanks to its restrictive DRM system which requires that players be online at all times when playing their games, even in single player. To make matters worse, server issues have caused problems for this online authentication, and owners of games like Splinter Cell: Conviction, The Settlers 7, and Silent Hunter 5 have reported not being able to play their games at all as a result. <\/p>\n
Fortunately, Ubisoft seems to be taking a reasonable approach going forward, and has announced that it will instead use Valve’s Steamworks. Steamworks is becoming increasingly popular, and the days of people complaining about Steam seem to be coming to an end. <\/p>\n
Unlike Ubisoft’s DRM, Steam does not require you to be online when playing, although there are advantages to being online. Also, Steam’s network is pretty solid, and almost never goes down. <\/p>\n