I agree about Impulse coming after GOG, because of GOG's total DRM-free awesomeness as well as readable FAQs and a superior site. But apparently if you do a "download and archive" it is almost as good as a backup. I have not verified [url=]http://forums.stardock.com/336339[/url] completely, but it does appear to work the one time I tried it.
Impulse's site and software is just not very intutative.

Yeah I could run majesty, but its at gamersgate also for the same price

Ah, I didn't know. Well, I do recommend trying Fences, it's not a game, but it is a nice piece of software.

New publisher with SecuRom and regional restriction. :(
http://impulsedriven.com/publisher/electronic_arts
Resident evil 5 pre-order
http://www.impulsedriven.com/resevil5
Regional restricted for Japan and Korea.
Only avalible in America & Asia.

I've talked with the guys at Stardock about issues such as these and it is due to the publishers.
Stardock requests that publishers use no DRM or GOO, the consumer-friendly "DRM-lite," if you will. However, some publishers refuse these requests. Additionally, the regional restrictions are due to the publishers being jerks (sadface) or wonky publishing rights (some publishers do not have rights to publish games in certain regions, and their partners in those regions refuse to list the games online).
Blaming Steam/Impulse/GG/D2D for DRM and regional policies for games they do not directly publish is foolish. I would like to see these services work together to pressure publishers to end the nonsense, but, as noted above, the publishers are generally the problem.

I personally refuse to buy any title with additional DRM from steam or impulse.
[edit: I am blaming the publishers not steam or impulse]

Additional DRM? Impulse doesn't place additional DRM on games. Steam is a DRM platform.
MAJOR difference there, no?

Wait...so GOO is not a DRM? (not rethorical, I'm genuinely curious).

GOO is DRM, but it is an alternative DRM, not something that Stardock slaps onto every game sold through Impulse. The product pages for items on Impulse tell you what DRM is used, including GOO. Unlike Steam, Stardock does not stack DRM; GOO will never be placed on top of another DRM system.
GOO is a great concept, because it allows publishers to use a very light DRM system. Many publishers refuse to ship games without some form of DRM. Stardock attempts to persuade these publishers to use GOO. It is a great compromise.
More on GOO:
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/03/stardock-unveil/
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/stardock-throws-goo-on-drm,762278.shtml

So which games has GOO actually been used on? While you can sing the praises of the theoretical system laid out in press releases, the true test, as with everything, is how it works in practice. So if you know of any games that actually use it then I'd be quite interested to know, while if there aren't any yet then perhaps that optimism needs to be tempered a bit.

Example product page of a game that uses GOO:
http://impulsedriven.com/stfighter4
The following publishers use GOO (there are more, but these are the ones I remember), which you can verify by visiting the Impulse store:
Activision (includes Prototype, COD4)
Capcom (newer titles only: SF4 and RE5)
Paradox*
Ubisoft (varies; Far Cry 2 and Assassin's Creed use it)
*Paradox is the only publisher thus far to commit to using GOO for games distributed elsewhere, including retail.
If you buy a game through Impulse, GOO activation is automated. The game installs, activates (ties itself to your Impulse email address), and the deed is done. If a game is purchased elsewhere, the user is prompted to enter the license key and an email address after installing the game. It is a clientless DRM system that does not install any hidden software. GOO was designed with the option of license transfer in mind. In other words, it will be possible to gift or resell used games, although this feature is not yet enabled. Stardock plans to unveil their plans for that next year.

Thanks for the info, and I've got a few followup questions as well. When I looked through several of the games you listed being offered on the Impulse website, they all state that the Impulse client must be installed to install or patch the games. Given that one of the key points of GOO was that it was a self-contained executable containing the game and Impulse Reactor that only needed to be activated once, it strikes me as rather odd that the Impulse client would be listed as a requirement. Is the listing of Impulse as a requirement an error, or is it actually still required, and if so just how does the actual implementation of GOO differ from other titles that are linked to Impulse?
Also, I looked through several Paradox titles available on Direct2Drive and none of them made any mention of GOO. Has Paradox actually started using GOO on download services other than Impulse, or is it just something that they've only said they'll do sometime in the future?

Well, simply put, Impulse is required for games purchased from the Impulse store, because you're buying said games from... the Impulse store. That is all. GOO is not tied to Impulse, although Impulse can activate GOO automatically.
Paradox will be using it for upcoming games. See: http://sev.prnewswire.com/computer-gaming/20090624/DE3764824062009-1.html
Think of GOO as an attempt to offer publishers a "friendly" version of DRM. The problem with DRM, however, is that some consumers treat the term like a scarlet letter, and automatically dismiss any DRM system as evil and anti-consumer. GOO isn't Stardock's attempt to lock every game they make or sell, it is a solution they offer for the benefit of consumers. If a publisher is extremely stubborn about DRM, and refuses to publish an unlocked game, wouldn't it be best for them to use the mildest and least restrictive DRM system available? That system is GOO.

Just to be completely clear about the Paradox angle, the guys who run the company have made it quite clear on their forums that they will NOT use any 3rd party DRM on the titles they develop,,,so Hearts of Iron 3, for example. The exception is, if you buy it from Steam it uses Steamworks, same with Impulse and Goo. Buy it retail and it uses nothing.
The games they merely publish will be using Goo, or already use it (East India Company).

So just how does it end up working in practice for these cases? Is Impulse only required for the initial download and activation, after which you have the self-contained executable that you can reinstall from any time and anywhere without any kind of activation? Or is the Impulse client still going to be required in some way any time the game is installed (whether for installation itself or for patches)? And if the Impulse client is still required for games with GOO sold through Impulse, and Impulse is currently pretty much the only place where titles that use GOO are sold, then just what difference is there between games that use GOO and games that just use Impulse? It strikes me as a distinction without a difference.
In the article you linked to it says that Paradox is intending to use it for retail sales as well. Any word on just how this is supposed to work? I was under the impression that the self-contained installer for the game is what needs to be activated with GOO, but if that installer is on read-only media such as a CD or DVD, then it can't exactly be modified for activation. Or will the installer be copied to the hard drive and any further installations need to be done from that copy?
I've heard all the general concepts surrounding GOO since it was initially announced (something like 6-9 months ago, if memory serves). What I haven't heard, and what I'm really trying to drill down to here, is that actual details of its implementation and operation. Concepts are well and good in the planning stage of a project, but when it's part of an actual product I'm being offered it's not general concepts I'm interested, but concrete details on just what I'd be getting. So thank you for the information you've provided thus far, and any additional details you can provide in response to any of my questions would be appreciated.