Also, a minor but noticeable issue I have is that when the game loads into the main menu, there will be this huge tear a couple of inches thick across the screen, sitting just above the New Game option. It flickers for a while then disappear, then reappear and repeat until I start the game. It isn't anywhere in sight in the actual game, but like the darkness issue above, it's more of a nuisance then a performance issue.
If anyone knows what I can do to get rid of these problems, I'll be all for it.