So I was doing some web searches on Steam, and it seems like a lot of people have problems with it (apparently, like Vista, it has some DRM features that can use a lot of CPU, and some games will not start/play if Steam's servers go down or are overloaded and can't confirm your subscription is active).

Example thread: http://www.hiddenpath.com/node/264

So I was wondering if all versions of ETW will require Steam, or if a retail version bought at the store will be standalone and allow singleplayer gameplay witout Steam installation.

Also, is it possible that a version without Steam would not require as much CPU as the Steam version?