The patch in the link I posted above seems to work like a charm. Without it, the game just freezes when I start a new game, without screwing around with compatibility modes. With it there's a whole slew of new resolution options, right up to 1920x1200 (and I would assume higher if you monitor supports it) and the game starts fine. I didn't bother playing it, but by all appearances it works now.
This is with an EA Classics CD-ROM version.