PS3 Review – R.U.S.E.
The PC has always dominated the real-time strategy genre. For years, console gamers have looked for a good RTS for their keyboard-impaired system. R.U.S.E is the latest strategy game from Eugen Systems, with the hopes of dashing the PC monopoly. So is R.U.S.E just another example of why strategy games belong on the PC, or is it the RTS PS3 gamers have waited for.
The game takes place in World War II. I know we all have heard the WWII story many times, but R.U.S.E. provides an interesting twist to the same story with spies, betrayals, and inept generals. Before each mission, there will be a cutscene to explain the story. Most of the time, the writing was good and the cutscenes had me interested in what was going on in the story. Sure, there was the occasional cheesy line or an awkward animation, but nothing that pulled me out of the experience. During missions, generals will talk to you and tell you about what is going on in the mission. These are scripted events, but battle conditions change often and these messages prove invaluable to beating a mission. When certain events are triggered, the game will go split screen. One screen will continue to show what you are doing, while the other screen will show a cutscene of what is going on in another part of the map. For example, it may show German tanks destroying part of a city, or allied bomber planes destroying anti-tank guns. These really give a sense of action to the game.
Next lets talk controls, menus, and ease of commands, which are all very important in an RTS. All units and buildings are created with a single pop up menu. The menu functions much like the PS3 cross media bar, where left and right navigate you to different sections and then up and down navigate within that section. It took me a few missions to get comfortable with the menu, but after I did, it became incredibly easy for me to create units and buildings, even when under pressure. I did have one issue with the controls. When you select a group of units and issue a command, it deselects them. This means if you want the same group of units to do something else, you have to scroll back to them and select them again. It was one thing that annoyed me, as I tend to be a little indecisive when playing RTS and move units around constantly.
The gameplay is tons of fun. Every mission has you looking at a table top war game style board. As you zoom out, units get larger, so that you can always see how many units you have, what kind they are, and where they are located. It’s a nice touch that comes in very useful when you are trying to manage a large group of units spread out across the map. This feature also works on the enemy units, but if they are outside your units’ viewing range, then they will show up as red poker chips.
R.U.S.E. is a very tactical game. In most situations you will only be given a few handful of units to use throughout the mission. You will need to use the units wisely and not just have them rush at enemies. In later stages where you are given buildings to build units, you will need to be just as careful. Resources are not plentiful and if you waste all your money on unnecessary units or keep getting your units killed, you will find yourself in trouble. If you send tanks at antitank guns, they will get destroyed, no matter how many you send. Sending airplanes anywhere near anti-aircraft guns will destroy your entire fleet. It’s a complex game of rock, paper, scissors and you will need to make sure you are on the winning side. You can also take advantage of the “Ruse” system. These are special perks you can deploy during the game. They range from perks that let you cloak your units, order decoy tanks, or even make your enemies run in fright. They aren’t necessary to win battles, but they can get you out of tight situations.
There are a few modes besides the campaign mode. There is Battle Mode, which is basically a free for all against A.I. bots. You can pick any map for the game and set up to four enemies and the difficulty level of each one. There is also a special op mode where you are given very specific goals. For example, you may be tasked with taking over a building without losing any tanks. Then there is the multiplayer. The multiplayer works great. It’s up to four players. You can either have a free for all or a 2 on 2 match. You also have a unified account where you accumulate points. Meaning that, whether you play campaign missions, battle skirmishes, or online matches, you will be leveling up your account. This account determines who you will fight in ranked online matches. Naturally, in ranked online matches, you only fight people who are within a few levels of your own.
R.U.S.E. is a great RTS. It may not be as robust as some of the RTS’s that are available on the PC, but this is easily the best RTS’s you can find on the PS3. If you are a strategy fan, this is an easy pick up for you. If you’re not that into RTS’s, R.U.S.E. will offer some fun, but won’t get you to change your mind about the genre.
PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score
Immersive Story Fun Multiplayer and Replayability |  |
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3 Responses to “PS3 Review – R.U.S.E.”
Gotta wonder if this game is even better with the Move…
Excellent Review, thanks PSLS keep it up.
I picked this game up on launch, and waiting for my Move to finish it because…(Continued in a bit)
Did you try it with Move yet? I hope it makes it easier to selct multiple troops.
Tip: “Sticky Selection” in the options menu the keeps your units selected after an order, I find it to be invaluable (until I hit triangle to open my popup menu and it stops the selected troops unexpectedly, my own mistake for not paying enough attention to the button map) That may be why Ubisoft set the default to auto deselect (your only real gripe with the game) This only hapeens when it’s really busy on screen for me so it may cost a unit or 2.
(in a bit)…My only real gripe with the game is the different button maps between Move and Dualshock, specifically selecting troops.
Move=L2
Dualshock=R2 (leaving L2 unused)
This could become a problem because the “T” button activates camera movement (on the Move), so if muscle memory from the Dualshock mapping kicks in while playing with the Move it could potentially send the camera spinning wildly out of control when trying to select troops, but I don’t have my Move yet so I can’t really say for sure.
I knew Ubisoft would screw up the button mapping somehow. Maybe I’m crazy but it seems most games they make (accept AC2 imo) has some clumsy button mapping issue and I end up having to use my pinky to press face buttons at some point for example.
The real issue is that they don’t let you re-map the buttons yourself. Thanks Ubisoft!
U-Play gives a little extra too, I had 20 points on my account so I started with “Super Pershings” right away in the first mission, then they were swiftly taken away in the 2nd mission (and got them back about mission 5-6) It also offers an extra map, PS3 theme, and Gold chips for MP.
Sorry for the long post, and short gripe with Ubisoft but I hope it helps someone.
Thanks PSLS you guys are awesome!
I have to give this game another go. I tried it over last weekend, but I was drunk and had a hard time getting the hang of it. Glad to know that its a pretty solid game though – I just wasn’t too motivated for it yet without the Move controls.
@khronicol – even AC2 has goofy buttons, I always want to duct tape the R1 button down because I feel like I’m holding it constantly and my finger actually gets cramped. I always thought it should be the inverse – hold R1 for low profile actions. I thought this for both AC games, but its especially fresh in my mind since I was hunting feathers last night.