Nice points. But you forgot that real soldiers don't shoot each other in the head for digging out some dirt with a pickaxe. The behaviors that you describe are things that we all hope people playing this game would be doing, but I think we know that's not the case.

Also, in the case of Pinpoint, the entire battle is fought over what might as well be a single hill.

I dont know of any war where soldiers carry 50 bricks, a pick axe and a spade into battle only to build castles and put random red blocks on the ground just to litter.

Riveting Tale, Chap

Cool beans, bro.

inb4coolstorybro

After some thinking I've come to realize that Ace of Spades's gameplay is the closest thing to real-world combat I have ever experienced. A few simple gameplay elements (the ability to dig and build, the limited draw distance, the extreme lethality of the rifle) result in players who think and act like real-life soldiers. They dig foxholes and construct improvised bunkers to defend tactically significant positions. They move in squads, set up ambushes, and understand the value of flanking. Teamwork extends past "two players happen to be in the same place", which is something that's all but unheard of unless it's specifically designed that way by the devs. The engagements are also just like real life. Defending marksmen fire on squads of attackers from bunkers and foxholes from extreme range. Attackers seek cover, call for reinforcements and attempt to suppress the enemy, with the occasional FNG panicking and firing full-auto at the enemy. While all this is going on, small commando teams raid the intel and attempt to hit the other team's forces from behind (which usually ends in the targets being slaughtered). Throughout the game, players fight to gain control of key defensive positions; I've seen entire games fought over a single hill.

tl;dr: Ace of Spades gives a fairly accurate simulation of how real-life soldiers behave.