RUSE
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RUSE calls in 'Chimera Pack' DLC 'in a few days'
Ubisoft is deploying additional content for its RTS, RUSE, later this month. In a tweet earlier today, the company revealed The Chimera Pack would be available "in a few days." VG247 surmises it's coming January 18, yet lists no source. The Chimera Pack was first mentioned in this post detailing upcoming PlayStation Plus content, though the exact details of the content were not made public. We've followed up with Ubisoft for more information.
Kinect Hacks: RUSE with gesture controls
At first, this video appears to show the Xbox 360 RTS R.U.S.E controlled using Kinect, but it's actually a ... clever deception: Evoluce's Wolfgang Herfurtner applied a Kinect interface to the PC version of R.U.S.E., allowing the in-game cursor to be controlled with motions. While there's a certain feeling of power, we're sure, that comes from managing an entire battlefield with sweeping hand movements, this appears to be a case in which being the controller is somewhat more unwieldy than being the person with a controller in hand. But while it looks to be an awkward replacement for the traditional mouse and keyboard on PC, it's a potential proof of concept for an RTS interface for consoles.
R.U.S.E. getting free nuke-themed DLC pack
Sad news for R.U.S.E. fans, as Ubisoft has announced it won't be doing any DLC for the game at all. Just kidding! That was, in fact, a ruse -- Ubisoft is releasing a "Manhattan Project Pack" for the real-time strategy title that will add two 2v2 maps, another 3v3 map and two different brand new modes. "Total War" mode will unlock units and technology one year at a time, building up battle starting in the year 1939, and "Nuclear War" sounds much more fun, starting the game with "all prototypes, factories and upgrades" unlocked and ready to unleash on the enemy. The pack will cost you a cool $50, almost as much as the actual game. No, that was another ruse, it'll be completely free. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait about 15 years for it, as the pack isn't due out until holiday 2025. No, just kidding again, it'll actually be out soon. We ruse-d you again! Are we doing this right?
Mafia 2 is top UK earner for third week
Take-Two's Mafia 2 whacked the competition to hold the top of the UK sales charts for a third week in a row. Making that feat even more surprising is the fact that Chart-Track notes the mob epic had a 58 percent drop in sales for the week. Second place went to Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2, which, after premiering the week before, flew up six spots with the launch of the PS3 version. Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days suppressed the rest, despite a 50 percent sales drop, to take the bronze. Three new titles entered the top ten: Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and R.U.S.E. took sixth through eighth, respectively. Red Dead Redemption just barely hung onto the top ten, but the real shock is that Just Dance took eleventh place -- we think that's the lowest it's gone all year. Check out the full list of the UK's top 10 bestselling titles for the week after the break.
R.U.S.E. review: Real time, realer boredom
Every strategy game I've played in the past decade has boasted the same claim: a key feature that will reinvent the RTS genre. Streamlining the experience into a simple, yet complex battle of wit, this spectacular, never-seen-before feature will allow everyone from the most experienced strategist to your own mother to enjoy this groundbreaking masterpiece. R.U.S.E.'s claim to fame is, as its subtitle says, "the art of deception." Control and manipulation are key, so forget strategic base-building and Zerg rushes. This game is all about fooling the enemy using decoys, spies, surprise attacks, radio silence, dummy buildings, psychological warfare and other underhanded actions. And who better to fool than the Nazis, right? Well, turns out these Nazis have more smarts than your standard video game fodder. Their tanks are pretty big too ... and numerous. Oh so numerous. %Gallery-48492%
Ubisoft cautious over new IP, remains focused on established franchises
Ubisoft Europe managing director Alain Corre isn't one to parse words -- for instance, he told GamesIndustry.biz in a recent interview, "The games that are not triple-A are not profitable anymore. And that's changed in the last 18 months." He admitted that "we are still releasing some new franchises," citing Ruse as a calculated aberration. "It's a niche so we know the size of the market for real-time strategy games ... with niche games it's possible to have a hit more than in the triple-A space, especially in the fourth and fifth year of the console cycle." To Corre, it's a question of investment risk. "To a certain extent it becomes less risky to invest more in a single game or franchise than spreading your investment between three or four games," he explained. "If those three or four games are not at the right quality level, you are sure to lose money. So the business model has changed and we're changing our way of making hardcore games." He said we might not see a new IP push from Ubisoft until the next generation of consoles, which he foresees to be "less than five years" from now. Oddly, he doesn't bring up Ubisoft Toronto -- a studio headed by Assassin's Creed producer Jade Raymond -- that's said to be working on both "AAA-game" and new IP. Nor did he address the fate of the scantly brought up I Am Alive, supposedly coming out next spring. Based on Corre's statements, we've at least managed to come to the conclusion that Beyond Good & Evil 2 (not a new IP) should be getting a release date during this console cycle. That's ... something?
PlayStation Move review
The PlayStation Move. It's funny to think just 15 months have passed since Sony first unveiled its motion controller, and now we're mere weeks away from hitting the retail market. To be sure, it's not like the company didn't have waggle on the mind already -- patents dating as far back as 2005 reveal as much, and of course the incredible success of Nintendo's Wii proved there's a market for more physically exerting gameplay. And it's not just PlayStation; Microsoft's got its controller-free Kinect motion camera system coming this November. So, in the year where all major game consoles now ask you to get off the couch and earn arm muscle, how does Move fare? Read on for more!
RUSE demo on EU PSN next week, region's PS+ subscribers can grab it now
Budding warmongers across Europe will likely want to set aside some HDD space for a R.U.S.E. demo, set to assault PSN there on September 1. However, if you're one of the cool kids with expendable income who signed up for PlayStation Plus, you can actually access the demo right now -- provided you live in the EU. R.U.S.E. pulls a fast one on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 on September 7 in North America and September 10 in Europe.
RUSE won't use Ubisoft's controversial DRM
Ubisoft's RUSE will not use the publisher's controversial "always on" DRM when the game attempts to make its latest release date in September. Instead, the PC version of RUSE will use Valve's Steamworks API to, as the publisher puts it, "offer the best community experience to players." The game will require an initial online activation, but the single-player game should be playable offline thereafter. Following up with Ubisoft, the company tells Joystiq that it will "continue to use the Ubisoft protection system for most PC games." We'll have to wait and see if the publisher stands by its DRM policies for future high-profile PC titles, or if its commentary is just a, well, you know. %Gallery-48492%
For the last time: RUSE to deploy Sept. 7
We understand your apprehension when it comes to trusting in a launch date for RUSE, Ubisoft's oft-delayed WWII-based RTS. While befitting of the game's title, the publisher's habit of announcing a release date and then (surprise!) changing it -- numerous times over the course of the year -- has grown from a bothersome trick to just plain mean. When Ubisoft's Aymeric Evennou recently tweeted that the date was now set for September 7 (September 9 in Europe; and September 10 in the UK), we couldn't help but feel we were being set up again. However, Ubisoft has independently confirmed with Joystiq that Evennou's posted release dates were accurate and that RUSE will launch in the US on September 7 across PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. (We should note that this confirmation came without a pinky swear.)
Tricked again! RUSE multiplayer preview extended to Wednesday
Didn't get a chance to try your hand at the RTS trickery of RUSE over the past weekend? You'll be glad to hear the free multiplayer demo has been extended to this Wednesday, July 21, at 6PM ET. We've got mixed feelings, as we're happy to keep playing RUSE, but we're sick of all these tricks! Enough!
Get tricky with free weekend of RUSE on Steam
Interested in checking out RUSE, but worried you'll get duped into a Ponzi scheme somehow? Fear not! Valve's digital distribution service Steam is opening up Ubisoft's upcoming trickery-based RTS for free all this coming weekend. Oh. No, you're right -- that doesn't seem to protect you from the Ponzi scheme situation whatsoever. Oh well! At very least you get to check out a game for free, right? We'd suggest pre-loading the game starting right now (available here) so that you can begin duping people left and right when the open play kicks off this Thursday morning at 11:00 a.m. PDT.
RUSE to support Move, not planning to support Kinect
Ubisoft's oft-delayed strategy game, RUSE, will be getting support for PlayStation Move when it launches (presumably) later this year. Sony's motion controller can be utilized as a virtual pointer, with gestures assigned to camera controls and quick menu access. Senior producer Mathieu Girard told Eurogamer that the Move offers "the most enjoyable" way of playing, but conceded that the PC version is "the most efficient." Although Microsoft's Kinect can also provide a similar virtual pointer experience, Ubisoft will not be incorporating motion support into the Xbox 360 version of the game. According to the Eurogamer report, "having to play standing up" while using Kinect proved to be a "stumbling point." While Microsoft still stands by claims that Kinect can be used while sitting down, we can think of at least one reason why Kinect support isn't ideal for the RTS: a lack of buttons, perhaps?
Tricked again! RUSE delayed to September
Alright, RUSE dev team at Ubisoft, that's quite enough! This is at least the fourth time your game has been pushed back from a retail release and frankly, we're tired of thinking up punny headlines based on your game's title at this point. So we'll just be straight up with you, dearest reader: RUSE's Facebook page has been updated by the development team reflecting another delay until sometime in September. The note cites "massive feedback" from the game's beta users as the cause of said delay, and explains that, "this extra time will allow us to implement many of your suggestions and improve the multiplayer experience while polishing the overall game." So, will we finally get to play RUSE in September? We're gonna go ahead and say "maybe ... we think." [Via RockPaperShotgun]
R.U.S.E. tutorial helps you become a veteran trickster
It's been almost a year and we're still haunted by the atrocities we've seen on the battlefield. We just weren't prepared last time, so the enemy advanced, steamrolling us like we were nothing but a squadron of cute, fluffy teddy bears covered in butterscotch pudding -- the cutest of ineffectual "warriors." So we've resolved that in the R.U.S.E. beta, we're not going to be such easy pushovers and, thankfully, Eugen Systems is here with another salvo of tutorial footage to help ensure that happens. The Paris-based developer behind the deceptive RTS offers several tips on maximizing time with the recently released beta; through the use of slick ruse combos, players can create more potent attack patterns and even distract the enemy from vital strongholds. There's even some insight into the unique characteristics of some of the six different factions in the game and combining their units in very specific ways, giving you a more dynamic unit set -- not to mention a breakdown of time periods, which limits the amount of research you can access and, by extension, your access to certain units. Because R.U.S.E. is such a complex game, it means you can't just click on stuff until you figure it out, which is our basic go-to strategy in these situations. What? We're lovers, not fighters, folks!
Don't get fooled again, watch this tutorial for the R.U.S.E. public beta
When we last played R.U.S.E., we weren't shy about expressing our initial difficulty with the game's steep learning curve. After all, the game is a deep real-time strategy title and still in beta (set for release on June 8). It's extra nice, then, that senior producer Mathieu Girard and creative director Alexis Le Dressay created this eight-minute-long walkthrough of the various gameplay options at your fingertips in the public beta. From faking army advances to the importance of reconnaissance, Girard and Le Dressay will have you up to speed on the forthcoming game's variety of tactics in no time. There are even subtitles for those among us who don't speak French-accented English or haven't played Heavy Rain -- talk about accessible! %Gallery-48492%
RUSE date a trick after all, release moved to June 8
R.U.S.E. is quite a crafty game. It turns out that the recently revealed June 3 release date was nothing but a smoke screen for the real date. The fully legitimate, actual release date is June 8. The game's PC beta began today and, according to Big Download, Ubisoft also announced the change in launch schedule. Normally, this kind of thing would be upsetting but, given the title, it just seems appropriate. The beta, incidentally, is available now to all Steam users. It allows both single-player and multiplayer action with six different factions on seven multiplayer maps.
RUSE June 3 release date is no trick; beta next week
If you were paying close attention to Twitter this morning, you might've noticed Ubisoft community developer Aymeric Evennou noting that a R.U.S.E. public beta would be strategically moving itself onto Steam on March 9. More importantly, though, if you were looking way too closely into the French publisher's YouTube video details, it's possible you would've seen this little tidbit about the game's release date: "R.U.S.E. will be available on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on June 3, 2010." (June 3, a Thursday, is likely the European retail release date. We've contacted Ubisoft to confirm the North American date.) From Ubisoft ... ahem ... tricking us into believing the game would see release in Q1 2010, to a private beta last year, and now the announcement that we'll get a chance to play the game next week, it's been a bit of an emotional roller coaster for us over the last year at Joystiq. Thankfully, Ubi also released five minutes of soothing fan service in video form that we've embedded after the break for you (and for our own well-being). %Gallery-48492%[Via Big Download]
Ubisoft reports fiscal Q3 sales of $679 million, hints at unannounced titles
Sure, $679 million may sound like a lot of money (it sure does to us!), but when you're a company CEO reporting that number to investors and it's 2.7 percent lower than last year's equivalent time period ($697 million), it's not quite as impressive. And that's just what Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot had to do earlier today when the company reported its fiscal Q3 (October 1 through December 31) sales for 2009. Given the publisher's French HQ, we're not privy to the period's revenue until later this year. In discussing plans for the upcoming year, the company cited "at least seven franchise titles" being launched this year, calling out this morning's (finally) officially-announced Ghost Recon: Future Soldier among others, leaving one (presumably unannounced) title unmentioned. The publisher then indicates "at least two new brands (R.U.S.E. has already been announced)" will see the light of day in 2010 -- leaving one unannounced new brand. Getting murkier yet, it appears "at least 5 online games" will be heading to the information superhighway, though only three are mentioned (yep, you guessed it -- that means two have yet to be revealed). With GDC, PAX East, and E3 not too far off (already?!), there's still plenty of 2010 left for announcements.
Splinter Cell Conviction delayed to April; RUSE to '2010-11'
In a financial performance update chock full of thrilling tidbits, like "revised financial predictions" and "sales targets," Ubisoft today announced the unfortunate news that Splinter Cell: Conviction would be bumped back from February 23 to "April 2010" and RUSE even further; to the ambiguous fiscal year "2010-11" (April 1, 2010 – March 31, 2011). No reason was given for either delay -- which is at least the second for just this version of Conviction (the original iteration was due out in November ... of 2007!).
