R.U.S.E. Preview

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In other words, this isn't just a matter of Largest Army Wins, or even of rock, paper, scissors ad infinitum. It's not even necessarily Smartest Army Wins - it's Most Devious, Bastardly Army Wins. There are ten ruses in all, but the bulk of them remain under wraps for now. What we do know is that most of them will be loosely grouped into faking information, hiding information, or stealing information, which says much about RUSE's overall philosophy. Information is king.

A potential wrinkle in the grand plan is the need to make a game that falls exactly in the middle of complicated and accessible - or, in other words, a strategy game for both PC and console. Idle browsing of forums has turned up some of the former trolling the usual "dumbed-down" line, and some of the latter whining it looks boring. It's got a bit of an uphill struggle, really. And while there isn't any inherent cause for complaint about the World War II setting, it is a little surprising that a game so determined to bring something new to the strategy table has gone with a very familiar theme that will prompt many to instantly feel they've got its number.

A first-hand experience of the so-called IRISZOOM engine, and its truly spectacular birds-eye to worms-eye insta-jumps, should change a lot of preconceptions. This isn't, say, Supreme Commander's similarly huge but strangely flat, featureless landscapes. This is terrain, baby - terrain. So, that PC is the lead development platform (the game is specifically designed to take advantage of quad-core systems) is perhaps not too much of a surprise. On the other hand, developer Eugen Systems is best known for Act of War: Direct Action, which threw out much of strategy gaming's complexities and fiddliness in favour of big explosions, so it's entirely possible RUSE could bridge that fearsome gap between PC and console strategy after all.

It's a game of land, sea and air, which means you can enjoy a spot of satisfying death from above as well as tank-centric argy-bargy.

Hopefully, too, there's much left to see - for now, only muddy green-and-brown European countryside has been on show, but jaunts to Northern Africa and urban areas are promised, which should shake up the array of strategies as well as the aesthetics. RUSE is due for release later this year - no word on an exact month as yet - which means it shouldn't be long before we see how deserts and cities look in that incredible engine. If all goes to plan, this could be the poker of real-time strategy - the furious concentration and sadistic thrill of deceiving your opponents. Surely, after all, a genuine battle of wits is far more satisfying than simply bombarding power stations with giant bombs until everyone falls over?