esterday Game Informer Online had the honor to take a sneak peek at Activision’s Call Of Duty: Finest Hour, the first title in the series to appear on home consoles.  While the game may have a new developer, the game is still looking stellar.  Thanks to some breathtaking visuals, spot on historic accuracy, and perhaps some of the most frantic and realistic combat sequences every put into a game, Finest Hour is shaping up to give all other military-based FPS titles a run for their money.

The two levels shown off to us took place in Russia.  The first was an vivid recreation of the battle of Tatsinskaya, where the Russians pushed back a sizable German contingent and ultimately helped turn the tide of World War II.  The level begins with you starting off as part of a tank battalion, so naturally you have a huge amount of firepower at your disposal.  The second level shown off was the monumental battle of Stalingrad where the Russian Army held off a rapidly surging German army and managed to repel their huge numbers.

Call of Duty: Finest Hour is will have 15 different levels that span six different characters.  You’ll take on the roles of soldiers from the US, Britain, and Russia and in doing so will be introduced to the unique situations and problems facing each country.  To keep things interesting you won’t just be jumping from one grunt to another, but instead will take on varying roles such as an Africa American tank commander from the famed Black Panthers tank division, and a female Russian sniper.  To add even more life to each character developer Spark Unlimited is toying around with creating situation specific facial expressions.  For example, a character will be able to express emotion through facial features to show pain when he’s shot or to convey shock or horror while in the thick of battle.  The title will also feature a more in-depth storyline to tie everything together as well as portray a more complete picture of the war.

In regards to visuals and gameplay, it’s pretty clear that Activision and Spark are sticking to realistic action, which was very noticeable in the two levels I had a chance to see.  Instead of relying on the romanticism approach of one man against an entire army, Finest Hour will instead focus on the presenting a more realistic approach to combat.  Gameplay-wise this comes in the form of having to work with other NPCs to get your missions completed.  Some levels you’ll be teamed up with other soldiers, those of which can provide cover fire and take on the enemy with some pretty impressive accuracy.  Other levels will teach you to learn how to coordinate your attacks with both infantry and heavy armor.  Going about a conflict by yourself usually results in a quick and bloody death, so being able to pair your skills with the NPCs around you is essential.

On the visuals front Finest Hour is also adhering to reality by featuring some outstanding graphics, especially for a home console.  The 30 plus weapons in the game are realistically rendered and modeled after their real-life counterparts and vehicles like tanks are modeled to a high degree of realism, as well.  To add more depth to the combat Finest Hour is also making heavy use of special particle effects like snow, flame, and smoke.  To draw the action away from the standard “on rails” type of experience, the game will also come complete with extremely large and expansive levels that allow for a great degree of free roaming.  The battle at Stalingrad, for example, is massive and gives you the freedom to tackle your mission by taking a number of different routes.  One part of the level has you running up to a Russian contingent as they’re about to rush through a gate, right into the path of a German machine gun emplacement.  While you can stick with your comrades (no pun intended) and brave the machine gun fire, you can also sneak around the area, saving you both health and ammunition.  The level also begins with an ominous presentation of just how rough and cut throat life in the Russian army was.  Rowing in a flimsy boat with some other soldiers, you’re given a stern introduction by your commander who tries to rile you on while also laying down the fact that if you will be shot if you try to desert.

While much of Finest Hour is set on-foot, a substantial amount of the game will also take place while in a vehicle.  In fact, Activision told us that about one third of the game will take place behind the wheel of some sort of vehicle.  While we only had the chance to see sequence driving a tank, the spectacle of tearing around and blowing up everything in sight was pretty cool and was a nice opportunity to show of the visual flairs of the game.

To go along with the realistic visuals and action Finest Hour is also going to features some top notch sound.  Combat sound effects are nearly life-like and each battlefield is awash with the sounds of war.  You’ll hear screams, gunfire, the roar of tanks, as well as the noise of planes as they buzz overhead and try to bring down enemy troops.  The score is being taken care of by famed composer Michael Giacchino, who penned the score for the original PC Call Of Duty and is currently hard at work on the score for the upcoming CG feature film The Incredibles. 

War is no walk in the park and it’s nice to see Activision and Spark sticking to the grim fact.  While the past few years has seen a dirge of World War II themed video games, Finest Hour is shaping up to be one of the most realistic ever made.  While we didn’t get any more details on multiplayer modes outside of the fact that both the PS2 and Xbox versions of the game will support online gameplay, the single player campaigns were enough to get us very, very excited.

Call Of Duty: Finest Hour is currently slated to ship in September for the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube.

Click above for the Xbox screenshots, and click here for the PS2 version.