Ace of Spades Member Review for the PC

The Good: Ever changing environments makes the maps interesting, the modes included are fun, whimsical graphics, fast paced action, 24 players

The Bad: Everything feels floaty and unbalanced, seeing endless blocks will hurt your eyes after some time, only 4 classes, limited amount of modes, no reward system, shoddy hit detection, no customization of any kind

I normally don't like Minecraft clones because they are pretty bad, but Ace of Spades looked exciting. The 8-bit style graphics with a Call of Duty multiplayer base seemed exciting, and it is, for maybe the first few matches then it gets boring. Ace of Spades lacks modes and classes which would make this game much better. Hopefully more content is slated for the game, but as it stands it feels very bare bones.

You can pick up to 4 classes which are heavy machine gunner, sniper, assault, and engineer. These are cliché FPS classes and the game really needs more or at least a way to make your own classes. There is no customization to speak of, which is really boring, but what is here is fun for a while. There are a few modes such as Team Deathmatch, Diamond Mine, and Zombies to name a few. I love Team Deathmatch so I went in here first. Playing with up to 24 other players was really fun, I dived in as a machine gunner and started fragging the other team. I soon realized that the spade comes in handy to dig your own fox holes or holes in walls for your sniper rifle. The environment is ever-changing and this is something that can make online fragging really unique and fun. You may run across a building then 5 minutes later it is completely destroyed forcing you to change tactics. I soon realized that you aren't given a fair enough amount of ammo to start with and ammo drops are very scarce. The sniper rifle has 4 round clips and the reload time is really long, so there are some balancing issues.

I started to see the issues during my first match of Zombies. Players can climb on top of the level (on the edges) and just kill everyone down below. You have to take your blocks and make a floating path up to stop them. I also found you can get lost forever if you start digging in a wall of a level. I spent 4 minutes trying to dig my way out. That isn't fun at all. This game needs barriers and limits on things to make it a more balanced FPS game.

Once you play around with the four classes and stick with one you will venture off into other modes like Multi-Hill or Demolition. These modes are fun for a while, but after maybe 6-8 hours online you will get pretty bored. The game just feels very stiff and uneventful. There are no rewards for killing anyone (not that they are necessary), but there is no incentive to even go back in after a while. I honestly felt the aiming was a bit off and floaty and you can jump way too high. The art style is nice, but seeing flat blocks everywhere will hurt your eyes after a while, not to mention a lot of people are tired of the Minecraft rip-offs and clones. If the developers spent more time on this game it could really stand out on its own.

As of today the servers are pretty empty. They were really full when I first got the game, but now you're lucky if you can find one or two full matches. This game has so much potential, but it feels half done. The hit detection doesn't feel right, the guns don't feel right, and the lack of classes, modes, and rewards will bore player early on. I recommend waiting for some major updates before purchasing, but if you really want a Minecraft type fragfest then go ahead.