On that note, those of you who can't tolerate EA's Origin and online-only games should tap out early before you get excited about this: Yes, you will have to register an Origin account in order to play, and yes, you must be online [strike]at all times while playing[/strike] in order to start playing. EA has confirmed that you will not be kicked out if your connection is interrupted. Moving on.
This is certainly a welcome change from the previous news that you would need to be connected at all times to play. Though I'm sure even this news will still upset some gamers out there.