Once again it's time to don your dog tags, shoulder your rifle and fight to the bitter end in the war to end all wars. World War II games have always been big sellers throughout the archives of gaming history, and now another hopeful recruit has joined the ranks. So, how will Hour of Victory fare - will it successfully assault its enemies and rise through the ranks, or die on its back in a muddy trench whilst being riddled with fire from the likes of Call of Duty? Well, that's what we're here to find out.

Most gamers these days have a fairly good understanding of the major events of WWII, as we've received such a good education through accurately told stories like those in the Medal of Honor and CoD franchises that it puts most comprehensive schools to shame! Hour of Victory bases its story in North Africa and Europe, where some of the most gruelling battles ever fought were staged. We follow three soldiers, each the best at what they do, through a daring mission to stop the Nazis from creating a nuclear weapon of devastating power. Our three heroes - Ross, a British Commando, Taggart, a covert operative and Bull, an Army Ranger, are the key selling point here, as each character has individual traits that allows him to approach the battle differently. Ross is the all rounder, with the ability to take a larger amount of punishment before hitting the deck and the strength to push otherwise immovable objects. Taggart is the stealth-based character, with knives that can be used to perform a stealth kill. He can also cut wire fences and pick locks, allowing alternate routes through some buildings. Bull is the Enemy at the Gates style sniper, and as an Army Ranger he can also climb ropes that give access to great vantage points for sniping.

The problem you find when you start playing through the story though is the lack of difference these abilities really make. For the most part Ross's abilities best suit the design of the levels, with the other two characters feeling slightly tacked on. His aptitude for soaking up enemy fire makes him the clear choice in most situations. You tend to approach enemies head on in linear confined environments, leaving little place for a sniper or opportunity to sneak up and silently remove your opposition. Who brings a throwing knife to a firefight? Well, maybe Steven Seagal!

In terms of playing style it's basically Call of Duty, only unlike Activision's famed series, within ten minutes of closing the disc tray the flaws are starting to show with horrifying frequency. As I mentioned before, you generally come face to face with a traditional cluster of enemies, standing chatting or suspiciously already hiding behind convenient crates. These moments show some of the most glaring AI glitches I've ever seen; enemies repeatedly face the wrong way in a gunfight, blissfully unaware of bullets whizzing past their heads and the screams of their dying comrades all around them! In other instances they actually shoot at one another in an epidemic of confusion. There are some hilarious moments to be had, but frustration soon sets in.

Fortunately you can soon do away with the aforementioned Nazis, because the game has gifted you with the a melee function that could kill an ox in a single blow! It's actually a quicker way to despatch enemies in Hour of Victory than shooting at them or throwing grenades! Coupled with a Gears of War style run button, you can clean up a whole squadron of Nazis in close quarters by just dashing from one to the other and butting them with your weapon in no time. I do think the run feature is one of the few good points here and it could have worked well if thoughtfully implemented, but the scenery has its own problems and running in narrow areas almost always results in getting stuck on a piece of debris or a doorway. Also, you're allowed to run for far too long; if you use the run bar until it's drained, it's a safe bet that you've just sprinted through a quarter of the level!

The story makes little sense as you work your way through, which unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) won't take you long. There's a maximum of five hours from start to finish, with the opportunity to play through with each different character. Only Achievement hogs will be bothered with this though, as by my second play through I found myself almost hoping for the red ring of death on my 360!! The flaws just seem to get worse as you go on, with the height of frustration being a tank driving level towards the end of the game where, asides from being the slowest tank ever built, it is also almost impossible to negotiate a ninety-degree turn in one motion, with our old friend superglue walls returning to make life just a little more unbearable.

There's also a multiplayer option available that allows up to twelve players to compete in three different game types. There's the standard Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and a mode called Devastation, where teams must gain control of a bomb and use it to destroy a number of targets on the map. It's a shame that the online play here really doesn't bring anything new to the table. Games are laggy and never seem to get full, probably because of the lack of appeal. The graphics are unstable at the best of times, with more serious issues when vehicles are included, such as getting stuck in the floor. Interesting.

Although the overall graphical style isn't too bad, several aspects really let the game down. The opening campaign, El Shatar, looks very familiar for gamers who've played the major franchises - that is, until you look closely. The snow-covered Castle Festenburg campaign has the best presentation of the whole game (partially because the falling snow helps obstruct your view of the lacklustre artwork!), showing at least some nice draw distances in places, but the whole game is filled with jagged, unfinished looking edges and poorly rendered textures. The worst example of this can be found in the poor character designs, which all sport inhuman faces. Up close you could be looking at the work of Picasso, with the ruddy complexions on show! At least weapon designs are fairly accurate, if lacking in any really detailed finish. Reloading animations though are as poor as the non-responsive action itself. And if facing this impressionist army doesn't dismay you, then the soundtrack will finish you off. It's lucky the levels aren't very long, because the repetitive wartime music in the background really starts to grate before long. Repetitive throughout, the theme is flat and fails to increase tension or add any drama to the weak plot. Sound effects go down the same route, with gunshots sounding the same in the wide open as they would if you were in a room made of tin!

Hour of Victory simply doesn't feel like a complete package. Given twice the time to work on this, nFusion Interactive could have delivered a solid Unreal-powered shooter, but everything from sound to AI seems to have been rushed for release. Having the Unreal 3 engine has been a godsend for most developers who've used it, but here it has just been abused. The game lacks originality and has failed to capitalise on its selling points. Giving more opportunity to use the different characters' abilities meaningfully would have added some replay value at the very least. The run function could have added something had it been properly tweaked, perhaps even making CoD's various development teams kick themselves and ask themselves, "Why didn't we do that?" As it stands though, Hour of Victory has been anything but a victory for Midway; newcomers to the genre will need to bring more to the table than this to stand a chance against the big names of WWII shooters. If CoD is Band of Brothers, Hour of Victory in comparison is Dad's Army - but instead of being painfully funny, it's just painful, with a lack of finishing quality that will leave even the most WWII-crazed gamer feeling very disillusioned.

Reviewed by Ian O'Neill for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).