Sorry to hijack this thread, but apparently DVD versions did not have steam DRM, but Solidshield and you don't need Steam to activate or play it (I'm allergic to Steam even more than to Solidshield).
Source:
http://forums.ubi.com/showthread.php...rmation-Forums
Spudkopf, can you please report whether you could change the language in the game or whether you had Solidshiled or Steam activation from the DVD copy? Some people actually report that when they bought a DVD they actually received just a dvd with steam client installation files and steam key for CloD instead of the game.
I'm in the same boat as you (but not from Oz), don't want to spend much money for a game that maybe won't work (due to everything I've heard of it). Were you also able to change the menu/briefings/etc. language to English?
Thanks!