<+HeyJD> http://www.abc.net.au/tv/goodgame/video/default.htm?src=/tv/goodgame/video/xml/20110809_2030.xml&item=07
<+HeyJD> ^^ That is Ace of spades being mentioned in an Australian Game reviewing show.

the AoS footage is shown for only a few secs @ 4:09 but watch the whole thing, it's an interesting 5 mins

My first review, hopefully I'll do more.

As usual I went on the internet to check if the new update was out yet. I was incredibly eager to release my exciment by blasting people in the face with the new shotgun, then I saw it; 0.58 download.
I then proceded to download it and then I went on a few servers to test everything out. they are split into sections:

Rifle Accuracy.
Myself (and probably many people) are happy that the accuracy of the rifle is back, though like Ben said it decreases with continuous shots. I was having a hard time at first with the rifle because I got so used to the cone after a while, nevertheless it was a good period of rifle revision: how to get good headshots.

SMG balance.
The Smg is AWESOME now, though not my prefered weapon, the accuracy of the smg is alot more comfortable aswell as it's recoil. The range for it is nice too. It's pretty useful for when you go behind enemy rifle cover and you unleash hell upon them.

New weapon: Shotgun.
The Shotgun is a pretty damn powerful weapon, deals a high amount of damage to players it is also useful for going behind enemy cover and taking about 5 people down (in most cases with you). But it seems ben forgot to balance this weapon out unfortunatly, when I was on the server some people (do note that it takes skill to do this) could SNIPE with a shotgun. about 20 or 30 blocks away I could get blasted in the face by someone with a shotgun from a distance where theres a slight glimmer of them in the fog. It's just ridiculous, shotguns aren't meant for sniping; snipers are (or in AoS's case, rifles). The Shotgun has a pretty balanced ammo count aswell as reloading time.

Fog.
The new fog effects are nice because now we can have day, night, disco...
It allows players to fully imerse in the game, giving a more realistic feel, now we only need lighting effects.

Server.
The default AoS servers are laggy, the ping count (in the pretty useful ping display) is quite high, and more lag means less fun gameplay (like when I was going to use a shotgun on a green in front of me, I lagged and walked right in front of him -_-")

Summary:
+The rifles accuaracy.
+The SMG has been balanced well.
+coloured fog! (well this point doesn't count so much)
+New weapon: The Shotgun is powerful but...
-...Shotgun's range is too far, It's needs to be balanced.
-The Normal Servers are laggy.

And there you have it, my lovely review. please comment below!

*note to people who slam this game: I just wrote a review with good and bad points, and it was a fair review, Is it that fucking hard to actually say/write something decent about the game?

I'll confess to downloading the leaked copy of 0.53... hopefully this doesn't involve any banhammers.

So, a quick review of the new features. I'll ignore the fact that only five people can play at a time without the server lagging uncontrollably, since Ben's planning to fix that for the final version.

The two most notable new features are the SMG and the new block graphics. First, the block graphics: They're awesome. There's a hint of the old "radar rings" whenever you move your cursor towards the ground quickly, but it resolves itself very quickly (Those who are prone to motion sickness should avoid doing this). Overall the blocks look very crisp. One other player commented that the rendering was better than Minecraft (although to be fair, MC has to deal with textures).

Now, the SMG: I actually kind of like it. First off, it's actually pretty rotten for close-in engagements, where its inablity to one-hit kill puts it at a disadvantage against a rifle. I found that it actually worked fairly well at middling ranges (around 50% of render distance). It also has nice fortification destruction capabilities all the way to fog distance. A rifleman and a gunner working against the same target proved to be a practically unstoppable combination.

So overall, 0.53 is a fresh, new, and improved. The SMG encourages teamwork and use of cover, and the new block graphics make the game look amazing compared to 0.52 and earlier.

I'm beginning to wonder why Ben hasn't called it 0.60.