R.u.s.e.

[truckingpete]

So I downloaded the demo on my PC to try it out. Its a RTS, but a little different in away. My laptop did run it but on the low setting so it didn't look great but on high, it looks wonderful! The demo was actually really nice. I'm gonna try it on my Xbox 360 though since they have a demo there. The people playing it have been giving it great reviews for the PC and 360 versions. Here's a link by the way:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/ruse/index.html

Don't know if you guys have every heard of it, but just want to see what you guys think. There is a demo on Steam for PC.

 

[Leonel]

It's interesting but feels gimmicky to me. It's a neat concept but you can't even seem to be able to rotate your unit formations towards an enemy.

 

[Arrowhead]

I got this a couple days ago and I'm really enjoying it. It's fresh and different than I'm used to. Online, it's all about psychology and bluffing your enemy can bring great success.

You don't need to orientate your units in formation with this as it isn't so much about the micro game but the macro. Your units will find there way and deal with the enemy by themselves after the objective is given to them. Don't send them into battles they can't win, and they'll do fine. It doesn't play like most other RTSs, you need to have an open mind. It really is fun!

 

[MobBoss]

I played this a lot during the open beta. Its rather strategy lite in some cases, and a bit rock/paper/scissors -ish in some aspects. Some nations also have a distinct advantage on some maps.

My recollection from playing it is the most important unit in the entire game is anything with scout abilities, especially if its a vehicle. Playing multiplayer, once I started adding in a liberal amount of such scouts, games got easier and easier.

 

[Akka]

I played this a lot during the open beta. Its rather strategy lite in some cases

Well, it's rather, on the contrary, strategy-heavy... but tactical-lite ^^

 

[MobBoss]

Well, it's rather, on the contrary, strategy-heavy... but tactical-lite ^^

Uhm. I didnt really find it that way, as it follows the typical counter-build formula of most RTS games. I.e. you see your opponent build an airfield right off the bat, either build one yourself, or go with an AA/AT factory and build several stacks of the cheap AA units to cover your resources (and some inf as well to guard against early paratroopers). Your enemy going med/heavy tank right away? Build tank destroyers and punish him for it. Your enemy going infantry rush? Build artillery.

And so forth and so on down the rock/paper/scissors path.

The application of the Ruse's themselves are really more tactical in nature, not strategic since they only affect a particular small part of the map (for the most part). Also, when I played, I recall only finding a few of the ruses actually useful in regular play.

Again, not knocking the game per se, as it was fun, fairly straightfoward and easily executed, but its only as strategic as any other RTS is strategic.

 

[Akka]

Strategic and tactical differences aren't about scale or size, but about if something is about planning battles or during battles.

Ruse doesn't really make you run battles, but rather plan your way into battle. As such, it's more strategic than tactical ^^

 

[MobBoss]

Strategic and tactical differences aren't about scale or size, but about if something is about planning battles or during battles.

As a military professional, I will simply have to disagree with you on that definition. Generally, strategic and tactical differences are indeed about scale and size. For example, the plan for a war, or a particular front of a war would indeed be strategic in nature, while a particular battle of that war or on that front would be decided and even planned tactically at a much smaller level. In theory, strategy is decided upon at the higher HQ level (i.e. Pentagon/army/corps levels) while the tactical battle is planned and executed at the maneuver level (div/bde/bn/co level).

Ruse doesn't really make you run battles, but rather plan your way into battle. As such, it's more strategic than tactical ^^

Uhm. Thats still a tactical decision. The only real 'strategy' of Ruse is your initial build plan or planned counter to an enemies perceived build. You can pick the right counter (i.e. strategy) but still lose the game in how you execute that strategy on the tactical level...(i.e. the micro....you fail to build scouts/get them killed, or fly your bombers into a hidden AA nest).

RTS games refer to them like this: Build:Strategy, micro:tactics. Both are required to be successful in RTS games. But Real-Time Strategy games are far, far more tactical in nature than your other turn-based strategy games are where your strategy is developed over time. Ruse isnt any different than other RTS in that regard. It does add an nice deception element to the game thats novel, but those options are still tactical in application.