I've previously posted a few whinges about DRM in modern games (both here and on BluesNews), but I am prepared to put up with a fair bit of inflexibility for cheap and indie games (for example, I'll accept that I can't resell games that I bought off GOG).
So when I saw that GTA IV was available on D2D for $7.50 I thought hey, why not.
This was my experience:
* Purchase game
* Install FilePlanet Downloader to download the game
* Download Games for Windows Live client
* Install Games for Windows Live
* Create a login to Games for Windows Live
* Wait another 2 hours for download to complete
* Install Rockstar Social Club application into wrong directory (D:\Games\GTA4) because the "GTA IV" logo in the installer is larger than the RSC logo
* Uninstall and reinstall RSC application to correct directory
* Create a login to RSC
* Login to RSC using RSC application
* Attempt to install GTA IV - fails because installer doesn't recognise Windows 7
* Install GTA in compatibility mode
* Run GTA, at last!
* Login to Games for Windows Live
* Games for Windows Live downloads a patch and asks to apply it
* Apply patch
* New version of GTA insists I don't need the RSC application any more, and uninstalls it
* GTA IV launcher prompts me to log in to the RSC (with its own dialog - no RSC app any more), and now does so every time I run the game
* Log into Games for Windows Live once game launches
* Now - at last - I can play the game in peace. Or, I could if it wasn't for all of those Games for Windows Live notifications...
I'm currently a resident of Canada, but I'm moving back to Australia next month... but my Live account is now permanently tied to Canada, and I doubt I'll ever be able to activate the game on another computer when I return to Australia.
This is by far the worst experience I've ever had installing a computer game in my life. For $7.50 I'm prepared to accept it, but I certainly won't be paying full price for a Rockstar game.
As for the game itself... it's OK so far, though I must confess some disappointment that the "detailed world" I was promised doesn't have any street signs, that I can't use the car's indicators, and that I haven't even seen drivers that bad in South East Asia. The cars also handle so badly at low speeds that I couldn't drive like a law-abiding citizen even if I wanted to.
In summary, vive la GOG.

My experience with GTA IV on Steam was okay, actually. Granted I already had a Live account and I'm not going to move anywhere for a while so that was probably the case.
*Download game off Steam
*Install GFWL
*Install RSC (it kinda did it all for me)
*Login to RSC
*Click massively obvious PLAY button in the corner to launch the game
That was about it for me. But the game is okay, the car handling appears to be made of butter (which is the recurring joke among me and some buddies whenever we crash into each other for no apparent reason).

I've had the game since launch so I was plagued by the Social Club crap as well. Thing is the latest patch does remove it so I have no idea why you have to play with it running. On top of everything it's a resource hog. I thought the game was really good except for the car handling which was diabolical, especially after all the fun to be had in Vice City. There are mods to improve the handling but they are too complex for me to bother with.

Yeah, the disc version is a bloody nightmare.

Perhaps I could word my OP better - the game launcher itself now prompts me for a RSC login and password, but I no longer need to run the tray application.
I'll look into the mods, thanks for the heads-up.
I hope you get to use the phrase "I can't believe it's not butter!" occasionally.

I would say yes. It's certainly an improvement over San Andreas where you don't need to watch your diet and play all those stupid mini-games. I found myself unable to play anything else once I got sufficiently far into the game and it does have some set pieces that only Rockstar know how to do. Still though, that car handling will have you tearing your hair out.

The DRM was rather obscene with this one, but the game was definitely worth playing.

There's some kind of phone activation method or something which you could possibly make use of once you move.

I doubt I'll ever be able to activate the game on another computer when I return to Australia.
Why wouldn't you be able to? Just continue to use the same Live account and you should have no trouble. They don't actually check you are in the same country as your Live account. For example, I have GTA 4 attached to my Live account that is set up for the UK region. And I made that Live account in Japan.

Maybe its the analogue controller on the 360 or perhaps GTA4 is a radically different game on PC but I found the car handling (and game in general) infinitely better than the previous games. Its the very first game that has ever made me understand how people can find driving relaxing
Now the DRM on the other hand, THAT I can imagine being pretty frustrating, are you guys sure you're not confusing DRM with driving? They both start witrh 'DR'...

My concern is actually being able to do the activation, with the serial number, from a region that's different from where I bought the game. Hopefully from what you're saying I won't have any trouble!
I thought that was something to do with Live, but by the look of it, it's also a SecuROM thing... how many different systems can they pack into one game?

Isn't GTA 4 region free online? I can check my Steam transactions list and GTA 4 has a ROW tag next to it.
Well played.

I haven't encountered a single GFWL game which is region restricted in terms of activation on Live. Even ones released here, I've activated with my "UK" account. I do have an account for this region too, but I only use it to check how pathetic Microsoft's support is for this region.

I passed on it for $7 on Steam because not only did it have SecuRom but it also had that moronic GFWL and Rockstar Social Club nonsense you all mentioned. Steam is enough DRM and if a game is going to have another two or three layers of it, I pass.