Definitely a must have for the serious strategy gamer. U need more brains and less mouse clicking and button smashing.
Do not be fooled by the reviews. They were harsh because the developpers messed up the campaign story and acting. Well, sincerely the story is not boring or stupid nor is the acting mediocre. I would say they are Ok! But this is not why you will be playing it. The true value is the playability and the fun factor you get from its depth, sort of like Chess. RUSE is quite different from say Company of Heores, C&C etc... in many ways. One difference is the units (far more varied and historic than CoH or any other) move over a huge landscape (think strategy and ambushes in cities and forests...) a bit slowly so that gives you time to THINK and BREATH and THINK. No need to multi task as much. You still need to coordinate and organise your defenses and attacks so you will definitely be busy all the time. Occasionally I take a break to zoom in and marvel at the 3D world unraveling... the bombers, the hills, sea...quite nice with the fast zooming technology.
So finally, make sure you play the campaign to learn all the properties of the units and how to deploy ruses. I recommend the hardest level if you like some challenge. You will definitely be tough in the multiplayer arena. This is where the RUSE really begins.