Ares is, all in all, a very fun game. Sure, it's a little outdated, the interface is clumsy at times and the single player campaign is a bit short; but few modern games, for all their 3D graphics and complicated storylines can compete with Ares for sheer fun. The first time you successfully execute a complicated strategic maneuver while fending off a swarm of hostile cruisers, or slip a cloaked transport through a blockade to capture a friend's base, all the little frustrations will melt away.
InsideMacGames
The comparison will be inevitable, so I will get it out of the way now. On the surface, the game will remind players of Escape Velocity by Ambrosia, but do not be fooled. The game play and look are completely different. The two games share the trait of being top down-full freedom shooters but that is where the similarity ends.
The missions run the gamut from assault missions to disrupt Cantharan communications, to escort duty, to planet siege duty, all the way up to Cantharan fleet destruction. The mission are not easy. You must be aware at all times what is happening on the battlefield. If you just concentrate on your little area, you will not see the Cantharan transports landing on your allies home world and destroying your ship building capability. You must learn to think globally and react to threats that may not have appeared yet. This game is not only a shooter's but a strategist's delight.
InsideMacGames
THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST MAC GAMES EVER MADE! Especially since you can make your own net levels.
Loryn Galardi, Customer
I love Ares! It's a wonderful game. Cheers for Nathan Lamont and everyone at Ambrosia!
Peter Seabrook, Customer
Great game; nice touch with the in-built tutorial.
Stuart Ince, Customer
I love Ares and the release of Hera has made me register even sooner than I was planning to. Keep up the good work.
Tom McGrath, Customer
It is rare to come across such an accessible strategy game. The graphics and feel are superb. Keep 'em coming.
Ben Dyson, Customer
I played this game into the ground. It is addictive, and with the multiplayer aspect, never the same game twice. I highly recommend it.
Clan MacGaming
Already Ares has established a firm foothold in GameRanger's Action/Arcade lounge; the only other game besides Quake consistently played in that room.
MacGamer's Ledge
Ares is a fusion of tactical combat with down-home unabashed booty-whooppin'! You are personally in control of one vessel, but also command the full resources of your team. On planet-based missions you can even control the production of more ships to send against the Cantharan devils.
MacGamer's Ledge
Multiplayer gaming fans can also get in on the action: Ares also features a head-to-head multiplayer mode that enables two gamers over AppleTalk networks or the Internet to compete against each other. Ares also features support for Scott Kevill's Mac-only online gaming service, GameRanger.
One of Ares' most unique features is its use of a dynamic scaling engine. The engine "zooms" players in and out of the action. Players can zoom in close as they pit their own ships against alien aggressors, then zoom out to manipulate fleet formations or to see what the enemy is doing. Ares also incorporates three tutorial levels to help bring new players up to speed with command and control, resource management and other important elements in the game.
MacGaming.com
Ares is one of the finest games I have played in the past year, despite its age and the fact that it doesn't require any form of 3D acceleration for its graphics. Its simplicity is its greatest charm, shifting the focus from bells and whistles to unrivaled gamplay. Definitely worth the download and the shareware fee!
AlwaysMac Magazine
This mission-based space opera starts out as a pure action game. You're given a single heavy cruiser and a job, blow up four well defended sensor relay dishes, and sent off toward a dotted red line of enemy installations. As they close in, so does the overhead view. You're expected...and outnumbered.
It's a great stylish action game, and you'll find an amazing level of polish in the small details: the instructions that set up each mission; the small, picture-perfect explosions and the rotating bits of debris they leave in their wake; the swift, disappointed exit of defeated enemies; and the fluid zoom of the map gridwork as you approach and retreat from enemy ships and installations. You really feel like you're at a command console.
PC Games
Released in October, Ares might possibly beat out EVOverride as my personal favorite shareware game in history. It is mildly difficult to get started, but once you're into it, there is no turning back. I was sucked into this game for hours at a time.
MacWin
The prospect of earth being invaded by any alien race is never a pleasant one, but if I'm going to see it happen I'd just as soon see it come with Ares' splendid gameplay, graphics, and story. And at least now, thanks to Ambrosia, more of us will get the chance to set things right.
MacCentral
Ares is a mission-based action game with elements of real-time strategy as well. You assume the role of the captain of the Ares, humanity's main defense against the invading Cantharan Order, an alien race bent on the conquest and destruction of "primitive" species.
MacWeek.com
The tutorials explain basic tactics and teach game controls. Absorb the knowledge, and use it "to spank the oppressors." Ignore it, and go home disintegrated.
IGM
Ares is an exciting blend of action and strategy in uncharted space. Use your ships to control and protect planets, increase your manufacturing capacity, and fuel your war machine. Strategy outmatches guns any day in this game.
MacObserver
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Ares is an exciting blend of action and strategy in uncharted space. Start with simple patrol missions, and work your way up to planetary invasions. Capture and hold strategic points, or your victory will be more costly! No technique is too unconventional in your quest to recapture your home planet.
MacReview
There is a lot of strategy involoved in this game, unlike StarCraft where the person who is the first to 255 units wins. It is still fun even if you are not very good at the strategy because you can directy control the ships.
Michael Treiman
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