I am having the exact same problems.
the long loadtimes, the odd gfx glitches where things are blue/green.
From what I have read in the different posts, the issue would seem to be because of the latest patch.
The latest patch put a higher demand on the hardware, specifically the memory (RAM).
The problem seem to mainly hit people with windows 32-bit (such as myself).
win 32-bit cannot use more than.. 3½ gb RAM i think?
while the patch made the game require more than that, or so it seems. Which causes the game to crash and malfunction.
Meanwhile, 64-bit windows users do not seem to have the problem.. atleast not that I’ve heard of..