In the unlikely event that anybody else has a GeForce4 MX and this problem, the solution is to rollback your drivers. Despite all the documentation saying you need the latest drivers, don't ask for help without first updating your drivers - the opposite is true with this card. Driver Version 7.1.8.9 works fine.
When I attempt to start Dread Lords (1.53) all I get is a pixelated garbled mess, as if somebody bumped the NES cartridge. The initial selection screen (Play Game/Manual/etc) opens fine but the intro movie and game's main screen are completely unusable. It worked 2 days ago when I first installed it so I know my hardware is sufficient, then the next day it was broken. The only thing I did in between the two was update Java and run some anti-malware programs to get rid of a Virtumonde in
