Most Real Time Strategy games make you feel like you're a war general, or at least playing with some really friggin' cool toys, but Ubisoft's latest RTS takes things a step further and puts you in the shoes of a war general…who also happens to be playing with some pretty rad toys. The ability to switch between war room and fully realized 3D world, as trivial as it may seem it a pretty fair representation of R.U.S.E. as a whole, it's everything you'd expect from an RTS, but with some wild ideas that will change how you approach the title and possibly the genre. Though not all of the ideas work (some fail quite miserably), R.U.S.E. could take many gamers by surprise.

Though far from inspiring, the story found in R.U.S.E.  is a satisfying and believable one. There's two World War II era campaigns to choose from; the first of which follows Major Joseph Sheridan of The United States army as he fights from Africa to Germany. The other of course if the flipside and follows the story of General Major Erich Von Richter of the German army. Of the two, Richter's campaign is the more interesting of the two as in the midst of commanding forces, you're also working to uncover a traitor in your ranks. It's a small side story, but it adds a bit of spice to what's a pretty straight forward story.

"...you're options are quite limited here."

So, there's the good ole' US-of-A and Germany...and that's it. While most RTS games, like the Total War series and Victoria give players the ability to choose between multiple factions in the campaign, you're options are quite limited here. Definitely a weird choice in a game that seems intent on a large scope, especially when you consider that you're given the choice of playing as the Americans or the German's; and these are the World War II Germans, the Nazi type, so some probably won't really want to take on the other side for ethical reasons regardless of how interesting it may be. You get the option to play as other nations when playing online - why not expand the campaign?

The main draw of R.U.S.E. is the ability to use ruse techniques to fool and bluff your opponents. These techniques include everything from disguising fighter planes to bluffing just where you're going to attack with your infantry troops, and when you can pull off a successful ruse, it's deeply satisfying. The reason for that though could be the fact that the game is incredibly unforgiving when you make a mistake. Imagine you're not just winning a match, but you're obliterating your opponent, and then you bite on their ruse; it then becomes a lot easier for your opponent to pull off a comeback. Depending on what side you're on, it's either frustrating or amazing - just hope you're on the latter side.

"...a slow gameplay style that is going to turn off more than a few gamers."

R.U.S.E. is at its best when the action hits frantic levels. During the game's first missions, you're given a taste of what the game could truly be with fighter planes buzzing over, tanks rampaging and sirens roaring throughout the battlefield. The only problem is that you rarely get to experience this, as more often than not R.U.S.E. features a slow gameplay style that is going to turn off more than a few gamers. When you're introduced to epic battle scenes, only to have them replaced by slow moving skirmishes, it feels a lot worse than if the entire game moved that slow, it's almost a bit of a tease as you're playing through the whole game in an effort to get more of these scenes, but they rarely come through.

The game's slow speed doesn't mean it's without its fair share of drama. The battles in R.U.S.E. can get quite hectic and build up quick (though not quickly). Watching enemy paratroopers descend on your squads while doing battle with tanks can be quite a nerve wracking experience. The ability to multitask is key with R.U.S.E. if you want to be successful, as opposed to being able to move and attack quickly in other RTS games.

Ubisoft has made its fair share of quality strategy games over the years, most notably Company of Heroes. While R.U.S.E. isn't likely going to overtake the love many have for that series, it is a decent distraction - especially when playing online. R.U.S.E. is a game of risks, both in how you play it, and how it was created. Most of these risks don't pay off, but when they do - it's a surprisingly good title.