EA PC title requires constant internet connection

EA's new PC title Command & Conquer 4 will require a constant internet connection to play, the company has confirmed, mirroring similar demands in recent Ubisoft titles.

A post on the official Command & Conquer forum, from community manager EA_Apoc, states that the game has "NO DRM" and that players do not need to have the DVD in the drive to play the game. The game can also be installed from the disc an infinite number of times on any machine.

However, to play the game the PC must be connected to the internet at all times. As the review of the game on our sister site Eurogamer makes clear "Just like Ubisoft's contempt-to-the-max DRM system, this will kick you out if your net connection drops for any reason - even in single-player."

Part of EA's justification for the system is that the game constantly updates user statistics, using an experience system similar to first person shooters such as Modern Warfare 2.

However the Eurogamer review suggests that: "There's no reason it can't wait to do that until you're next back online, just like consoles do with their unlocks."

Ubisoft's similar demands for a constant internet connection have come in for severe criticism from PC users, especially after the company's own severs proved highly unreliable - apparently as a result of attacks from hackers.