Hour of Victory - hands-on

We never thought we'd say this, but... we're actually sick of killing Nazis.

We've simply visited the trenches of World War II far too many times in the last several years. How many times can one storm the beaches of Normandy and still find it harrowing? How many times can one invade Berlin and still find it meaningful? If everyone tries to make an ultra realistic shooter out of a real, historical event, they're all going to end up pretty much the same.

That's why Hour of Victory, arriving on Xbox 360 this summer, is trying a new approach. Here are a handful of differences that - if pulled off well enough - could make it more interesting than another Medal of Honor or Call of Duty.

Think comic book, not documentary

The developers realize that the market on serious History Channel war games is covered, so they want Hour of Victory to play as more of a pulp comic adventure, full of exotic locales, larger than life characters and big action set pieces. The level that we completed had us racing through the palm tree-lined, bazaar-filled streets of a North African town, blasting Nazis every few seconds, taking orders from a bellowing mustachioed man in a red beret and ducking as enflamed bomber planes dived overhead.

Some might have a problem with war being used for less somber entertainment... but it certainly worked for Indiana Jones.