RUSE

True Strategic Depth

Confounding expectations of cross-development on PC and console, Eugen Systems has managed the seemingly impossible feat of marrying interface simplicity with true strategic depth. A clever zoom technique allows the battlefield to be seen at any scale, from the steel and blood of concentrated action between individual units right up to a bird's eye view, where it is revealed as an unfurled map in a war room, complete with ambient Morse Code bleeps and the murmurings of radio operators.

Lock'n'load

As the camera zooms and pans, units are stacked up like casino chips to be moved en masse. But unlike the turn-based board games from which RUSE so obviously draws inspiration – most notably Axis & Allies – combat occurs entirely in real time.

The system isn't without minor flaws, however. With no alternative to cursor selection, you have to scan the battlefield visually, making it difficult to quickly select units by type. And when combing units the area-effect cursor lacks a mouse button's drag-and-select precision.

Burning down the house

As with other RTS games, success requires constant consideration of the micro and macro. Ample maps and side objectives promote war on several fronts. And economy and resources are, naturally, an ever-present concern. But individual encounters and skirmishes also need close and careful observation, as the ebb and flow of battle means that retreating and regrouping is often more effective than out-and-out attrition.