The campaign element of R.U.S.E. is a series of set pieces from World War II where you get to direct and command Allied troops from the safety of your war room, no doubt somewhere deep underground.

Format Reviewed: Xbox 360 (Also on PC and PS3) Developer : Eugen Systems Publisher: Ubisoft Release Date: 10th September 2010

R.U.S.E is a one-of-a-kind RTS game that allows players to bluff their enemies to lead their nation to victory, controlling the action from the heart of the battlefield to the full theatre of war.

The game performs with very little slowdown. Zooming in and out of the board is as smooth as silk and, even with a large number of units on screen, the game handles the chaos that can ensue, though it has been toned down compared to the PC version.

Ruses add a new layer of strategy; The game map is easy to use for all player types; A lot of fun online

Feels a bit too simple at times; The campaign is terrible; Lack of interesting units

Up close, RUSE doesn't look like an interesting real-time strategy game. To make things worse, it's a game set in the tired territory of World War II of all places. That is, until you take the camera and start to zoom out until a battlefield stretching hundreds of miles can be seen.

One of the more surprising titles released this month, R.U.S.E. may appear at first to be a pretty average war title. Looks can be deceiving though, which is something R.U.S.E. knows a lot about.

Excellent, coherent control system; Ruse concept works well, and elevates the title beyond mere RTS scrapping.

Useless campaign mode; Texture details sorely lacking on Xbox 360 version

R.U.S.E. is a fun and fascinating real-time strategy game, as long as you know which parts of it to invest in and which to skip entirely. It prospers in the competitive arena, putting an intriguing use of bluffs and reconnaissance to good use on expansive maps that will test your ability to control...

Ruses provide a nifty and original strategic element; Slick tabletop interface makes it easy to stay organized; Recon; ambushes; and other elements make for lots of flexibility; Online and skirmish matches are really fun

Bland story characterized by poor cutscenes and inferior voice acting; Campaign is boring and badly paced

There are strategy games that push the envelope more than R.U.S.E. does, there's no denying that, but Ubisoft's latest offering is still an enjoyable game. We think ultimately there's going to be less 'subterfuge' and out-manoeuvring then the developers hope for, given this titles pre-disposition...

As you take control of General Arrogant American throughout the course of the campaign in R.U.S.E., you'll struggle to come up with any real reason why this guy is any better than the bad guy, General Generic Evil Nazi.

Feels different than other recent RTS fare; Engaging co-op and multiplayer; Simple control set-up that still leaves room for plenty of strategy

Campaign is a bit of a bore; Visually impressive and detailed; but it lacks any real identity

R.U.S.E. is the kind of game a real-time strategist might enjoy and be bored of at the same time. It's a game that relies on strategy and thinking ahead, rather than fast reflexes and actions-per-minute, but it manages to create problems for itself, at least on the consoles, due to the limitations...

Easy camera system; wide variety of ruses to use; good amount of strategic depth beyond throwing units at each other

Dull single player campaign; problems differentiating units from terrain; lack of granularity in unit selection; problems with controls