➤ A new RTS on console 🎮

Version tested: Xbox 360

It is a very good period for all PC users who love strategic games, after Starcraft II the release of the new chapter of Civilization is imminent, but how is the situation on consoles? Luckily Ubisoft after the experiment attempted with Endwar tries again with an approach more in the wake of tradition but with a pinch of innovation (in addition to the various aspects in terms of gameplay we remind you that PlayStation Move is supported on PlayStation 3), which will make any "consoling strategist" happy.

The plot is very well narrated through clips of movies between one mission and another, with a valid dubbing capable of returning the right feeling, the feeling of witnessing unrepeatable events is present, and there is no need to get bored since the sequences are rapid and the search for Prometeus (a spy capable of revealing all the plans of the allies to the Axis forces) becomes more and more spasmodic. As you all know by now, RUSE is set in the Second World War and sees us fighting as the Allied forces against the fearsome Nazis and their supporters, including the Spaniards who are faced many times, and since the first missions, not only on the grounds of the beloved boot but also in Africa . As a major of the United States we will make a career in a short time, enough to annoy other generals thanks to our skills on the field.

RTS of course

RUSE is in every sense a real-time strategic one, we can arrange the troops on the battlefield and give the different orders not before having set up a headquarters and managed the supplies, present in the game in the form of storage deposits from which they leave at constant rhythm of the convoys headed right to the Headquarters, each convoy arrived safe and sound at our depots increases the available resources indicated here in the form of money to be spent on new structures / units.

These storage platforms cannot be built, but it is necessary to occupy the few that are "free" on the playing field or to conquer the enemy ones. After a few games you realize that it is necessary to have at least one other base placed as close as possible to the deposits in order to speed up the time between loading resources and earning money. The phase of gathering resources has obviously been reduced to a minimum to speed up the clash, but the fact that deposits are limited and that run out with the passage of time forces us to always move with caution, not wasting money. The birth of the units works in the same way, they leave the structures after they are built and after the payment of the relative price. On the troop front there is certainly no lack of variety given that in addition to the infantry, both ground troops such as light armored vehicles, tank destroyers, lee tanks, assault guns but also air troops such as bombers and paratroopers are present. The missions all begin with a short briefing in which the main objective is explained and the battlefield is revealed, further secondary objectives are unlocked during the fight and help to increase the points obtained by winning the battle. The points earned increase the player's level as a strategist (some objectives are linked to this ranking).

PC version

The PC version of RUSE it's identical to its console counterpart, except for a couple of factors. The first concerns the technical aspects. At a high level of detail, the visual feeling is certainly better and there is less loss of detail, with larger textures and more refined models. At the level of gameplay it is not that the graphic improvements are decisive (indeed, they do not affect at all), but they are there and should be noted. Moreover, RUSE manages to be fluid even on machines that are not really very recent. The second and most decisive factor is the greater practicality of the control system. The combination of mouse and keyboard, in strategic games, is irreplaceable. So, the talk about the awkwardness of the controls valid for the console versions, for the PC version falls away. The control system, when mastered (it doesn't take much practice), is great and zooming with the mouse wheel is much more practical than doing it with the joypad. In general, you are able to be much faster and better control the troops, which is no small feat. Let's say that, if you play RUSE on PC, you can add half a point to the final grade of the article.

Zoom IN/OUT

Moving troops on the battlefield is very simple and you just need to press the A key to select them and a further pressure in another area of the map to make them move. At this point, the real added value of the Ubisoft game comes into play and that is the possibility at any moment of the game, by moving the right analog stick, to bring the view closer and further away at will. This allows a different approach to battles, on the one hand with the zoom to the maximum we will have the continuous feedback of our troops and we will see them in detail facing the enemies and the roughness of the terrain, on the other hand with the medium-far view it is possible to manage them like pawns on a chessboard, trying to anticipate the opponent's moves. In our opinion, the reference to the chessboard is also fitting because with the maximum view of the distance, tanks, infantry and all means are reduced to a single pawn (a bit like the party of several players of a Jrpg is reduced to the sole protagonist in the exploration of the playing area) which is added to the other pieces a bit like a game of checkers, complete with circular bases colored green. Managing the troops in this way, even if our preferred view is the intermediate one, is easy and immediate, for the assembled troops it is always possible to split using the two backbones LB and RB. The real flaw of this system is that it does not allow a precise selection of the units, often we will find ourselves moving them all together unless we zoom in and choose the most suitable ones. In our opinion it is not a big problem, certainly solved by working with the proximity to the pitch, it is then possible to select all the units of the same type, or to surround the troops with a circular selector that allows a wider and more varied selection in the type of unit. It is necessary to give the right interpretation to this system of enlarging / shrinking the playing field, as well as providing a valid help to quickly retrieve troops farther from the hot zone, it is essential to have perfect control of the map and not just to intuit the enemy movements but also to discover the tactical points to be defended through ambushes. This strategy is immediately taught from the first games, some units, including infantry and anti-tank guns, if positioned in the forests, are able to keep the convoys of heavy vehicles of the opponents in check. The correct exploitation of the different troops is essential to be successful in battle, for example tank destroyers fear infantry, as infantry fear armored vehicles, assault guns are weak to frontal attacks, that's why planning must be absolutely preventive.

Xbox 360 achievements

Never like this time getting all the 1000 points available will make you sweat seven shirts, not only is it necessary to complete the game, with main and secondary objectives, but also all the cooperative missions and battles on Xbox Live in different modes. A major commitment to unlock all 50 achievements.

Deceptions and possibilities

Returning to the playing field, it is set in sectors, visible through the farthest shot, and this division has a specific purpose and that is the possibility of using the different RUSE precisely, the deceptions. The developers are proud of the inclusion in the game of these excellent alternatives to the gameplay of destruction, in short, during the mission the intelligence service provides bonuses to be played against the enemy, for example the interception of communications highlights on the screen with some red arrows the opponent's early moves. It is also very useful to send a spy beyond the enemy lines to find out which vehicles are placed on the battlefield far from our troops (the enemy units are in fact distinguished only by the dimensions between infantry and heavy vehicles but until you get close he is unaware of which unit he is going to face). Excellent is the possibility of moving in radio silence, without communications our forces move without being seen by enemy units, a valid means to go unnoticed until the decisive attack. The attack with the lures is also fantastic, perfect for moving the bulk of the opposing units and then hitting them in another area with our real means. These bonuses, which are temporary, make the gameplay very varied and there are situations in which it is necessary to use these tricks to avoid enemy counterattacks or to hit opponents almost undisturbed. If the campaign in is the beating heart of the single player we cannot forget that it is possible to play skirmishes and operations, in which real battles and invented but decidedly intriguing situations are reproduced that we will be able to face both against AI and on Xbox Live. The online is definitely full-bodied as far as RUSE is concerned and it is possible to face the challenges as well as in the classic deathmatch also in coop up to 4 players. From a technical point of view, the graphics engine makes its figure without problems, we will not be at the top of the generation but it is not necessary for this type of games. We would have liked a few more details when zooming in on the units and on the battlefield which to be honest looks a bit bare, but you just need to play with the right distance to enjoy the battlefield to the fullest. The framing steps are always fluid and as explained they allow perfect management of the clash thanks to a perfectly designed control system, even if more complex orders are required for our troops and the need to always select them manually to move them to the target.

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8.0

Your vote

RUSE in our opinion it succeeds where other strategic games on consoles have failed, it inserts a bit of novelty giving lovers of this type of titles a new perspective and above all the possibility of playing it sitting comfortably on the sofa. The management with an always different perspective and with simplicity of our troops on the battlefield, as if it were a virtual Risk, gives great satisfaction and changes little the fact that the "purists" turn up their noses, RUSE it's deep, fun, and will make console strategy lovers happy. Ubisoft has hit the mark in our opinion and its new game deserves to be thoroughly tested, offline and online with friends. Only a few marginal defects do not make it an absolute masterpiece, but the road is the right one.