OK, to begin with I 'do' have Vista, and I am aware that is likely half the problem, but I doubt it.
I installed the game with no problems, and everything seemed fine. I failed the graphics card test, but I am pretty sure my video cards are up to date (I even ran a few updates to be sure) so I didn't think it would be a real problem, I updated the game as well, just in case. I started the game...
And it never loaded. It took me back to the desk top with that little message 'the operation stopped working, vista is checking for a solution' blah blah blah.
I tried putting it in compatibility mode, stuff like that (that usually fixes any 'vista is a bitch' problems quite nicely) and that didn't work.
But here is the weired part: Sometimes. It works. Every once in a while, it just...works. I can play the game fine. If I close it, it stops working again. I find this happens more often when I reboot my computer, but not always.
Anyone got any ideas?