R.U.S.E.

Overview

R.U.S.E. (which doesn't actually stand for anything) is a Real-Time Tactical game set in World War II. The game has a bright and clean art style unlike many other WWII games that go for a grimy, guerilla look, setting R.U.S.E. apart visually. It runs on the IrisZoom engine which allows the developers to create huge expansive maps that are reportedly the most detailed levels any RTS has ever attempted.

The story centers around a fictional character named Joe Sheridan. Sheridan is a US Army rising star who aspires to be a full general. As the player, you control his forces from the deserts of North Africa; to sun scorched Italy; rustic France, Belgium, and Holland; and the final assault on Nazi Germany.

A free, open, public beta of R.U.S.E. was available on Steam without need of any sort of activation key from March 9th to April 12th.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer consists of 4 different online game types. There is...

1) Unranked 1v1

2) Unranked 2v2

3) Unranked 3 or 4 player Free For All

4) Ranked 1v1 or 2v2

There is also a "Battles" game type, where you can fight against the AI in either 1v1, 2v2, or 3-4 player Free For All.

RUSE stands out from other WWII RTT's by a few innovative features.

- Gameplay essentially forces the player to gather Intelligence on the enemy, or to hide your own units through the use of RUSE's.

- Highly detailed maps that cover immense areas of land and various landscapes.

- Most WWII games opt for a grimy, dirty look. But RUSE has a vibrant art style that is also highly detailed.

- RUSE is compatible with the Playstation Move and Touch Screen Computers, offering a new level of depth o the battlefield.

The fundamental difference of this game compared to other RTT titles is IrisZoom technology, which enables the ability to watch over the battlefield from every possible camera angle.

The RUSEs

Deception is the essence of R.U.S.E.’s gameplay, just as it is the core of warfare: deception techniques such as espionage, decoys and radio silence played an essential role during World War II and continue to figure in modern conflicts. R.U.S.E. features deception cards - also known as ruses – that let you apply a deception technique to a specific sector in the map. The ruses are split into three categories :

- Reveal : these ruses such as the Spy Plan or Decryption are useful in order to understand or uncover your enemy’s actions.
- Hide : the Radio Silence or Camouflage Net will let you hide your troops or buildings from your opponent’s radar.
- Fake : the last category of ruses is used to trick your enemy, to make him believe what you want him to believe. The Decoy Offensive simulates an attack to confuse your adversary.

Uplay

Uplay is a service where you earn points and use them to unlock bonus items. Here is a list of Actions (achievements) and Rewards for this game.

DLC:

Eugen Systems released a DLC pack for RUSE in December of 2010. The DLC pack is called "The Manhattan Project pack." It provides 3 new maps, and 2 new game modes called Total War and Nuclear War.

3 New maps: The new maps are: "Twilight of the Gods" (a large map overlooking a river delta in Holland at night). "Vesuvio" (another large map, takes place in Italy with a volcano in the center; the belligerents bases are located on opposite sides of the volcano). "Guns 'N Tulips" (a medium sized map that takes place in North Africa with a river running through the denter of the map).

2 New game modes:

Total War - This game mode starts all belligerents in the 1939 time period, but progresses after a set time to 1942, and finally advances to 1945. When changing time periods, all weapons will automatically be researched and will phase-out the older weaponry. This game mode offers a unique experience to enter combat on the same level as your opponent(s) without the need to research any time period correct weaponry.

Nuclear War- As it states, Nuclear War allows all belligerents the ability to build a nuclear artillery factory. For a high price, one can manufacture the factory and for a nearly equal high price can produce the nuclear artillery. Nuclear artillery moves is quite cumbersome, has a slow rate of fire, and is very fragile. But, it can destroy a building in a single shot and can decimate troops within its blast radius.

PC System Requirements

Minimum:

• OS: Windows® XP (with Service Pack 3) or Windows Vista® (with Service Pack 2) or Windows® 7
• Processor: 2.8 GHz Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD® Athlon™ 64 3000 or higher
• Memory: 1 GB for XP / 2 GB for Vista and Win7
• Graphics: 128 MB DirectX® 9.0c-compliant video card (ATI® Radeon X1000/GeForce® 6 Series or better)
• DirectX®: DirectX 9.0c (included)
• Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compliant sound card

Recommended:

• OS: Windows® XP (with Service Pack 3) or Windows Vista® (with Service Pack 2) or Windows® 7
• Processor: 3.5 GHz Intel® Pentium® D or AMD® Athlon™ 64 3500 or higher
• Memory: 2 GB (XP / Vista / Win7)
• Graphics: 256 MB DirectX® 9.0c-compliant video card (ATI® Radeon X1900 series / GeForce® 7800 or better)
• DirectX®: DirectX 9.0c (included)
• Sound: DirectX® 9.0c-compliant sound card