When comparing R.U.S.E. vs StarCraft II, the Slant community recommends StarCraft II for most people. In the question“What are the best RTS games for PC?” StarCraft II is ranked 2nd while R.U.S.E. is ranked 33rd. The most important reason people chose StarCraft II is:
With the Starter Edition, players can start the beginning of the campaign, compete in ranked ladder matches, and play anything in the Arcade (a mode that offers a huge selection community-created games and mods).
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Excellent campaign
Each mission in the campaign plays out slowly and requires careful planning, make a slight mistake and the game will not be that forgiving. This means the player must give full attention to the game and its enthralling story as it unfolds.
Pro Active multiplayer scene
Despite the age of the game there is still many people playing online so it can be easy to find online matches.
Pro A free starter edition is available
With the Starter Edition, players can start the beginning of the campaign, compete in ranked ladder matches, and play anything in the Arcade (a mode that offers a huge selection community-created games and mods).
Pro Big player base
Has a very big player base and everyone will be able to find a suitable opponent whether you are a rookie or an experienced player.
Pro Well balanced, asymmetrical gameplay
Opposing teams will have completely different skillsets allowing players to take wholly different approaches toward completing the same goal. This makes for asymmetrical gameplay that has been painstakingly balanced.
Pro Campaign features an engaging story and acts as a tutorial
StarCraft II tells a very concise and cohesive story, exclusively featuring the Terran, with some exceptions during optional missions. During the campaign, the player is asked to make several choices which partially alter the storyline, as well as give access to some units, while making other completely unavailable. With a new unit unlocked nearly every mission, these levels utilize unique gameplay mechanics that highlight the specific uses of each new unit that is unlocked, thus allowing players to familiar with them. For example, one mission highlights the maneuverability of the Viking, an aircraft that can quickly fly across the map, killing other aerial units, and transforming to become a walking vehicle that can annihilate ground-based enemies.
Pro Gives in-game access to a wide variety of community created games/mods
Users can publish their mods to the game so that other players may then apply them in-game. This makes for easy access to a wide variety of mods and games.
Pro Has an active eSports scene
With a 1.6 million dollar prize pool for the world championships in 2015, StarCraft II has a very large and supported eSports scene that is participated in throughout the world.
Cons
Con Removed from Steam
Con Slow
The pacing is quite slow, which may take a player quite a while to get interested in the game. This may be a turn off for some as it can take too long before interesting plot points happen.
Con Starcraft I units are unavailable
They removed/replaced some of the units with new units. As of 2021 several mods of SC2 engine feat SC1 units are freely available