I for one believe that this is far better than the virus-like StarForce et al. This allows unlimited installs, doesn't require disc in drive, and shouldn't cause BSoD. And if implemented well, it should be quite secure. Last part doesn't apply to AC2, where the implementation is still bit lacking iirc. But if the saves would be created directly to/on server, then crackers would need to either create their own save/load system to replace online functionality, or create their own server and redirect the traffic there. Most importantly, the executable can't just be "cracked" as it doesn't have the functionality needed for game play (=conventional save/load mechanism)