I'm playing a polearm guy and I do like to use spears quite often as I use other weapons. And I don't do too bad with spears. They are quite fast weapons without shield. Sure that you would'nt fight with a spear and a shield if you don't have some mates close to you to protect you.
If you're alone you just put your shield on your back to fight your oponent. It's exactly as using a bastard or a longsword, you can use a shield to protect from ranged but you keep it on your back when you fight because you don't wanna be to slow...
It's not the most destructive weapon of cRPG, ok.
For the moment it's a fast, long and cheap one. I think to make it more realist and effective, it should do 2 more damages points in piercing.
But please don't speak again about this one handed overhead stab animation of a 2.5meters weapon long that would just be horrible and
out of any realistic considerations!
If I give you a shield and a spear that long in the other hand, you just could hit one way (piercing as it is in the game). I think it's a big enought reason to keep this one attack direction.