I don't know what it is about this summer, but we sure have been getting a lot of (legitimate) opportunities to play some sweet games without having to dig out the ol' credit card.

R.U.S.E., Eugen System's real-time strategy game about bluffing your way to victory, will be free to play on Steam this weekend. The promotion kicks off on Thursday, July 15 at 11:00 AM PDT. This preview version is a hefty download, so it'd be wise to start pre-loading R.U.S.E. now. Click here to do so.

Maps not seen in the beta build will be playable, as will all six factions. As much as I like to hate on most World War II games, this is at least an interesting take on the period. And hey, free!