Hi all,
On launch the game was immediately crashing to desktop.
I figured out the problem after some troubleshooting. I use ATI tray tools to do a refresh rate lock to 85hz. I'm one of those holdouts with a CRT (albeit a 22.5" widescreen CRT). Running anything but 85hz requires fixing geometry and other issues, so staying at 85hz is important. ATI tray tools seems to be the only utility that does this well.
Once I shut down ATI tray tools, the game launches OK.
I'm going to have to poke around inside ATT for a while to figure out what is the problem, precisely. Just wanted to let folks know. ATT is pretty popular among enthusiasts.