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R.U.S.E. image leaves room for speculation

by: Randy -
More On: R.U.S.E.
Announced today -- but revealed full-force at GDC tomorrow -- R.U.S.E. is a real-time strategy game published by Ubisoft.  Developed by Eugen Systems, the folks behind 2005's Act of War: Direct Action ("A little too easy...but it does have its own sense of fun," said Phillip Ellis in his GamingNexus review) R.U.S.E.'s acronym -- since we all wanted another one of those -- could possibly stand for R.atified U.sage of S.trategic E.spionage.  As the camera scrolls in and out from atmospheric to ground-pounder views, R.U.S.E. will engage in deception as a viable wartime tactic, and presumably not just in a secretly-sick-the-pirates-on-a-rival kind of way a la Sins of a Solar Empire.

Here's the one in-game shot thus far.  Note the scale as these Risk-sized army men aim to advance through a small European-looking town nestled between two hilly flanks.  Also note the lack of any fog of war, since the blue player can at least note the presence of a red army is on the other side of the ridge on the right when that would sensibly be out of the blue army's line of sight.  Not having a fog of war (if that's indeed the case here) may play into the ruse-making tactics in your toolbox; it's possible that the three red-army stacks (four, four, and three discs tall, pictured left to right) are over- or underestimated numbers put forth by the red army.
UBISOFT® ANNOUNCES NEW INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, R.U.S.E.TM

SAN FRANCISCO — March 24, 2009 — Today, Ubisoft announced the launch of
R.U.S.E., a new intellectual property developed by Eugen Systems, creators
of the critically acclaimed strategy title Act of War: Direct Action(TM).
R.U.S.E. is scheduled for release on Windows PC, the Xbox 360® video game
and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer
entertainment system for fiscal year 2009/2010.

R.U.S.E. is optimized for Intel's latest core processors, including the
Intel® Core(TM)i7 processor, and will be demonstrated for the first time in
public at the Intel booth during the Game Developers Conference (GDC) at
Moscone North Hall, booth #6006 at 5:00 PM Pacific on Wednesday March 25 in
San Francisco.

R.U.S.E. is a one-of-a-kind real-time strategy game that allows players to
bluff their enemies to lead their nation to victory, controlling the action
using views that range seamlessly from the heart of the battlefield to the
full theatre of war.  Players will be plunged into the action thanks to the
exclusive IRISZOOMTM Engine which offers an intuitive interface that allows
for smooth, rapid transitions from a birds-eye view of the entire conflict,
down into the heat of the battle and vice versa.

"With R.U.S.E., Ubisoft is once again shaking up a genre, offering an RTS
with a twist that will thrill gamers,” said Tony Key, senior vice president
of sales and marketing at Ubisoft. "Ubisoft is known for innovation and
R.U.S.E. continues that tradition, offering the most immense and detailed
maps ever seen in an RTS. Players can explore the maps using IRISZOOM
Engine, which provides an aerial, smooth interaction unlike anything ever
seen before.”

Ubisoft and Intel are committed to working together to ensure R.U.S.E. takes
full advantage of Intel technologies.  "Ubisoft and Intel are demonstrating
some of the benefits gamers will experience when playing R.U.S.E. on the
Intel® Core(TM)i7 processor based platforms,” said Elliot Garbus, vice
president Intel Software and Services Group, general manager Visual
Computing Software Division.  "Gamers will experience more immersive game
play with smooth zooming from satellite to ground view, superior AI
delivering more complex unit movements and more realistic physics throughout
the game.”

In R.U.S.E., players use their brain as the ultimate weapon, fighting a war
of perception, where the ability to deceive and mislead the enemy determines
success. A first in a strategy game, R.U.S.E. reinvigorates the genre by
using deception to give new-found depth to the game play.

To learn more about R.U.S.E., visit www.rusegame.com


About Ubisoft:
Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive
entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong
and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has teams in
28 countries and distributes games in more than 55 countries around the
globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game
titles to consumers. For the 2007–08 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of
928 million euros. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.

About Eugen Systems:
Eugen Systems, based in Paris, works at creating very high-quality strategy
games for PC and next gen consoles (Xbox360 and PS3).
Eugen Systems released "Act of War: Direct Action" one of the most
critically acclaimed RTS of 2005.
For more information on Eugen Systems visit www.eugen.fr.


© 2009 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. R.U.S.E., iriszoom,
Ubisoft, Ubi.com, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft
Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. Developed by Eugen
Systems.

"PlayStation”, "PLAYSTATION” and "PS” Family logo are registered trademarks
of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of
companies and are used under license from Microsoft.