Q: Who has the honor to speak with us? State your name, rank, and occupation!

I'm Alexis Le Dressay, and I'm the Creative Director for Eugen Systems.

Q: What sort of game is R.U.S.E.?

ALD: R.U.S.E. is the game that will take the player into the heart of strategy: You’ll have to manipulate huge armies to defeat your opponent, and rely on your ability to analyze moves and tactics in order to beat your opponent’s strategy and fool them.

Q: Is R.U.S.E hard to handle?

ALD: Absolutely not. R.U.S.E. is easy to pick up and play. In order to create a deep and pure strategy experience, we made a special effort to determine a fine game rhythm that allows the player to analyze, decide, and manipulate without being bothered with the usual tons of displayed information inherent to RTS games. We managed to do it without losing the game depth that is expected by the players. Just as an example, note that there are more than 200 units and buildings with their own details to manage in the game.

Q: Why is it the game of deception?

ALD: In R.U.S.E., we wanted the player to focus on the core of strategy game. A strategist must observe, analyze, and understand every little step on the battlefield. R.U.S.E. is the game where each player uses their intelligence service to anticipate the moves of their opponent; this makes some information available about the enemy. Deception is also a matter of avoiding being spied on: lying, fainting, hiding, and faking…you’re the only one who decided when it’s time to reveal your real forces!!! That’s like poker!!!

Q: What was your source of inspiration?

ALD: Deception is present everywhere in our daily lives: in media, politics, even relationships, but we also realized how important it was during wartime. There are so many stories around this hidden side of war, including the famous “Fortitude” operation. None of the other RTS games give the player the opportunity to control this major aspect of strategy.

Q: Do you have a solo campaign?

ALD: Obviously, we have a deep solo campaign taking place in the World War II background. Famous combat scenes, such as the bloody battle of Monte Cassino, or the very well known Operation Overlord, can be reenacted by the players. But we wanted to give a brand new approach of this major event of our century, which is why the solo campaign will give the player the opportunity to experience this story through the eyes of the master strategists who pulled the strings of this world conflict. You’ll discover an adventure where it’s all about manipulation and illusions…

Q: Any multiplayer modes?

ALD: A multiplayer mode is of course available in R.U.S.E. Indeed, the use of manipulation, bluffs, and other tricks to win a confrontation is even funnier when it comes to playing against a real human opponent via the online features. Basically, it’s very rewarding to know that your strategy worked and that you managed to fool the person you’re playing with. It’s truly more exciting than just being able to click a button faster than your opponent to create more units than him, if you know what I’m talking about? (joke). Be sure that we will provide you with more information about the multiplayer modes available in R.U.S.E. soon.

Q: What about the IRISZOOM engine? What does it bring to the genre?

ALD: First of all, we developed a brand new technology that recreates entire warzones for gamers to play in. Regular RTS games illustrate Operation Overlord by recreating the map of Omaha beach; In R.U.S.E., thanks to the IRISZOOM Engine, you will be allowed to operate in the entire area of Normandy…hundreds of kilometers will be available in real time! Three levels of zoom on the battlefield will help you seeing everything in a few seconds with an interface, very simply and clearly.

Q: What is the overall goal of the game? Is it a Macro or Micro management Strategy game?

ALD: R.U.S.E. can be played using a macro vision, a micro one, or both. The player can decide whether to manage the whole army or just certain troops. The IRISZOOM Engine is the best technology to do that. You can switch from high-level strategy, where your goal is to understand and adapt to the enemy’s plans in order to fool him, to the role of a general who organizes reinforcements, the defense of strategic points, or research into new weapons. Ultimately, you are the commander who has to ensure that the battle will be won using the right units, in the right place, at the right time.

In conclusion, we can say that you will be given the chance to experience a much larger and true-to-life version of the mythic scenes of WWII than in any other RTS, which really makes R.U.S.E. the ultimate strategy game.

Ubisoft's R.U.S.E., developed by Eugen Systems, is scheduled for release on PC, Xbox 360, and the PS3 for fiscal year 2009/2010.