RUSE is set in WW2, where you command the Allied forces against the Nazis, and unlike many of today’s RTS games, strategy is actually emphasized. You’re not going to accomplish anything by charging at the enemy with all your forces. Instead, you need to use tactics, act and counteract what your enemy does. The story — yes, there actually is one — follows Major Joe Sheridan, from his battle in Tunisia to a rank as General in charge of the whole war. There isn’t much story to RUSE, and what there is of it, it serves as to mainly advance you from one battle to the next.

The gameplay in ruse, while real time, is tactics based, and battles take a while. If you’re used to rushing in StarCraft 2 and other RTS games, it won’t do you any good here. Instead, battles are often slow, and you’re expected to anticipate what the enemy does, then act accordingly. A great new aspect of the game is “intelligence”, where you can decrypt enemy’s intel and know where they are going to move their troops. On top of this, you can send spies to the enemy to gather intel — this is almost required, as it will give you an advantage. You can zoom the map all the way out to see the individual battlefield and all the way in to see the individual units. This works rather seamlessly, and so do the controls — there’s no mouse cursor here, you control a camera with your controller and select the units as you want.

Technically, the game looks decent, and the audio and soundtrack complement it well. The great thing is that it manages to run smoothly regardless of how much action is going on on the screen. One of the few downsides might be that it’s slow — too slow at times. If you’re into fast paced RTS games, which have become popular the past few years, you’ll find RUSE too slow for your taste. But if you want an intelligent strategy game, you should check it out.

The Good:
Emphasis on tactics and intel
Smooth gameplay
Lengthy and solid campaign

The Bad:
A bit too slow at times
Visuals could be more detailed

Overall score: 8/10