For over a decade now, it's been the holy grail of online gaming: combine a shooter and a strategy game in the one package and make it work. Many have tried, notably World War II Online, but none ever really got there.

Heroes & Generals is trying to get there.

In development at Reto-Moto, a studio made up of a bunch of the founders of Hitman devs IO Interactive, Heroes & Generals is a team-based online shooter that lets most players battle it out on the ground (or in the air) while some command them from a "tactical war map".

Players take sides in the Second World War, either as infantry or in a vehicle, with missions promising to be of a variety you're more accustomed to in singleplayer games; sometimes you'll be behind enemy lines in a small team, other times you'll be in a massive frontal assault with explosions and corpses everywhere.

The option to be a commander is interesting, as the game's press release says they can "decide how to manage battlefield assets and where to push the attack". If this means direct control over spawn points and reinforcements, this will be pretty neat.

If this sounds like something that floats your mid-20th century boat, you can sign up for the game's alpha test here.
