In 2002, the origional version of Ares was developed as an open-source software project, which means that the source code is freely available for anyone to modify. As a result, several different versions of Ares are now available, but all use the same network and files are shared between them and users all belong to the Ares family.

Since the basic functionality and technical details are the same, the reviews below focus more on the differences between versions, which is mostly appearance and layout. Also, some versions offer a greater level of customer support.
ares ultra     ares lite     ares vista     aresP2P     ares gold
Besides the reviews of the different Ares P2P filesharing applications, one of our writers just completed a review of a new Ad Sponsored music download service of the Vivendi music library, Spiralfrog Free Music Downloads

Many users of file sharing software are not computer experts. They don't want to do very complicated things to get their music, but just want to select a file, download it, and play it. Ares Ultra is designed especially for these people. Its easy-to-use interface is customized for simple and clear operation: the commands are intuitive and we don't think anyone who plays with it for more than 10 minutes will have any problems downloading and enjoying shared media.



And whats more - It Just Works. The download and installation process is simplicity itself. Set-up seems almost too simple, and a lot of the (previously) manual configuration tasks that can be frustrating with earlier versions of Ares are performed automatically. This is truly set and forget software. Ares Ultra users can share files with users of all other versions of Ares, so Ares Ultra enjoys a huge support network of fellow users. If you're in the very unlikely position of getting stuck with something then a quick web search, or a question in one of the many dedicated Ares forums, should see you through.

What we liked
Ares Ultra offers a very easy-to-use installation and setup process: you cannot go wrong. Day-to-day operation is very smooth and its easy to figure out whats going on from the very start. Selection of the tracks you wish to download couldn’t be easier, and we're convinced that even the most computer-illiterate users could navigate and operate the system with ease. If you're stuck, then the Ares Ultra technical staff can answer your questions accurately and efficiently.



The software is AOL friendly, and that will be welcome news to AOL users, who often struggle with P2P software. Ares Ultra works well with many systems and the team have obviously worked very hard to make sure everyone is as happy as possible. Ares Ultra contains a fully featured MP3 and Movie Player – you don't even need to open up another media player to be able to enjoy your files (though naturally this is easy to do if you chose to) which helpfully cuts out another step in the process.

What we didn't like
The simplicity of the interface works very well for most users. For more experienced users looking for a more obscure function (and we're talking about things you would want to use very, very occasionally like using hashlinks, or adding a new skin) it might be a slightly more time consuming task. All the options and functions you'd expect to be there are present, but you might have to look through a few menus before you find them. This really is a minor quibble and in truth it shouldn't affect your enjoyment of this excellently executed piece of software.
For these reasons, we would recommend Ares Ultra.

For those users with slower or less powerful computers, or those that simply want to tie up fewer resources, Ares Lite might just be the perfect solution. Ares Lite was developed with speed and low use of resources in mind and it does this wonderfully. Users with older computers – especially those using earlier version of Windows, such as Windows 98 or Windows ME – would do well to investigate Ares Lite.

The user interface is understandably sparse, but all the regular functions can be found somewhere in the software. Some more advanced features have been stripped out, but it's likely that only the most experienced users would need these anyway, and even then only very occasionally. You probably won't miss them.

The low memory consumption will mean that your computer should not slow down while the software is running and will sit quietly in the background doing its job. The low CPU usage also means less drain on resources.

What we liked
Ares Lite really is, well, light. It runs quietly in the background is a perfect example of set and forget software – set it up and leave it. This worked really well for us because there's nothing more annoying that trying to work on a document but being obstructed by a large, bloated, attention-seeking P2P program.

The multi-file download system is simple, but works perfectly. You are limited to 10 downloads at one time, but that is seldom an issue as download speeds are fast enough that we had a hard time lining up the 10th file to download before the first was done.



What we didn't like
Ares Lite is perfect in many ways, but we were sometimes a little confused by the interface. Minimalistic is good, but some of the symbols on the buttons led us to wonder what exactly it was that they did. This is a minor problem and hovering the mouse pointer over the button will often reveal its purpose – in any case once you get used to which buttons do what you'll have no problems. The delete key is fortunately conspicuous, so there's no way you can confuse that with something else. This is a very minor issue, and isn't really going to be a problem at all. A great piece of software.
For these reasons, we would recommend Ares Lite.

Some versions of Ares work perfectly with most computer setups and most operating systems. Others have some problems with particular software combinations. Ares Vista attempts to address these issues before they become a problem. Ares Vista has been developed specifically to work seamlessly with the increased security measures present in Windows' Vista release: while some applications insist you turn of essential parts of Vista's security suite, Ares Vista works with the operating system, meaning you don't need to compromise your security to enjoy file sharing. Naturally Ares Vista works just as well with other operating systems, too.



What we liked
Naturally working seamlessly with Vista's enhanced security is a big plus, and that alone is probably enough to persuade you to download this version. There are other nice features, too, and these might just help you complete the decision-making process. We particularly like Ares Vista's user interface – say what you like about Microsoft, but you've got to agree that their sexy, sleek looks of Vista really add to the user experience. Ares Vista share these handsome looks and while, ultimately, it adds nothing to the competency of the programme behind the looks, it does help to look at something aesthetically pleasing while you organise your music downloads. Organisation of media files – and the ability to categorise media by type – make Ares Vista a natural choice for users who like to keep their collections under the tight rein of a well organised system.



What we didn't like
There isn't much to dislike about Ares Vista (and that comes from experienced users). One thing we noticed was that the 'intelligent' optimisation of bandwidth uses sometimes causes some odd results: files lower down our lists were being given priority over those above them. We accept that this is a feature, rather than bug – and indeed we have no doubt that our bandwidth was being optimised to the full – but it seemed counter-intuitive to us to see files higher on our lists being neglected.
For these reasons, we would NOT recommend Ares Vista.

Ares P2P was designed to be user friendly, intuitive, and simple to get to grips with. While perhaps not as sympathetically implemented as the excellent Ares Lite, Ares P2P goes some way to simplifying the file download and sharing process. The makers have taken out some of the superfluous functionality and only left the user with those bits that really matter. All the functionality you will need on a day-to-day basis remains in the software. The interface looks great, too. It doesn’t go as far as Ares Gold in making sure that every aspect of the program looks just right, but it retains an element of the ‘wow’ factor about it.



An integrated media player means that you can listen to or watch your downloads without switching programs; while the operation isn’t as well implemented as in some other versions of Ares, neither is it as badly implemented as some. This is a user-friendly version of Ares which, if the issues noted below were addressed, would be in the running for a commendation.

What we liked
The user interface is friendly enough and looks good; those functions that haven’t been chopped out work as they should, which is more than can be said of some alternative versions. The software works well with older, slower machines, which is a godsend to those users still running Windows 98 or ME. It doesn’t fare as well with Vista, though, so consider your options carefully before going with Ares P2P. Installation is easy and it is difficult to get wrong. Uninstallation, rarely a polished or satisfying process, works very well, and the software was cleanly removed when we wanted it out of the system.

What we didn't like
Ares P2P just seems to be missing something. It’s like the creators simply chopped out bits that they deemed unnecessary, without considering the consequences of such a zealous cropping process. Whereas Ares Lite seems to be reorganized around the cut-down functionality Ares P2P just seems to be missing chunks, and it shows. We found the menus a little clunky at times (possibly because they had been designed around a more comprehensive set of options) and we did struggle to find one or two functions that appeared in odd places. The configuration options, too, were set out in an unusual way and we struggled to find a coherent route through the setup process. Connectivity seemed to be a problem for us, and we think that Ares P2P was having trouble interfacing correctly with Windows’ firewall. Cutting off halfway through a juicy download is more than annoying; cutting off during an upload just serves to alienate you from other users, and if that user is the only one with a copy of the file you need then you may be in lasting trouble. There is no one thing that puts us off Ares P2P, but a legion of smaller niggles and rough edges serve to make its software very frustrating indeed.
For these reasons, we would NOT recommend Ares P2P.

Overview

Ares Gold was designed from the start to stand out from the other versions of Ares. The result is a very graphically rich and pleasing look and feel.

Many other features that you will have come to expect from filesharing applications are present, with a very basic but functional media player, a nice library function that allows you to keep track of the files you download, multiple simultaneous downloads, and the ability to keep searching the network for faster downloads while you're in the middle of downloading a file.

What we liked

The interface looks very sexy indeed, with the buttons looking clean and fresh; even the font for the text used on the interface has been carefully chosen, blends in really well, and looks find of funky. It really is aesthetically pleasing, and we like the look a lot.

The little media player contained in Ares Gold works quite nicely, and although it is very basic, it doesn't suffer the same annoying jumping and skipping problems that plague a few of the other Ares implementations – we don't think it will replace your current media player, though.

What we didn't like

Like many things in life, looks are not everything. Approach a beautiful, stunning, elegant girl with a lovely smile, great body, and magical laugh, and you may find she's a shallow shell eaten up and rotten inside. Ares Gold is that girl. She looks great, and on first glance it's easy to see why you might want to spend the rest of your life with her, but as soon as you start using her as she's designed, you realise that the beauty is skin deep. Eventually you'll start looking around for another girl that actually works.

If you can get the program to start downloading files without losing your temper, then you're a better person than us. The beautiful interface is slow and frustrating, the download selection process infuriating, and the setting of any options largely impossible.

Additionally, the program doesn't seem to work well with some versions of Windows with security settings being a major bugbear in getting anything to work – unless you're experienced with the advanced settings on your implementation of windows, then we suspect that you will be crying with frustration in under an hour.

When we got more than three downloads running simultaneously we couldn't access anything else on the internet, and our other applications stopped responding. While this could be solved by only accessing a couple of downloads at once, it is unusual behaviour which doesn't affect other versions of Ares to the same extent.

Using Ares Gold simply because it looks nice is a huge mistake. Examining the software on its other merits shows quite quickly that this is NOT a version of Ares that we can recommend.

For these reasons, we would NOT RECOMMEND Ares Gold.