While the free to play world was once only populated with simple games sporting lame graphics and less-than-fulfilling gameplay for some hardcore gamers, that stigma has changed drastically over the past few years. Enter Heroes & Generals.

Heroes & Generals is an ambitious upcoming shooter from Reto-Moto that is absolutely bursting at the seams with potential. Tossing gamers into World War II Europe, H&G is sporting some AAA features, and even a few innovative ideas that even the big dogs don’t have, all for the low low price of free. So if you’re growing a little tired of your Call of Duty or Battlefield matches, or if you’re just looking for something a little different, Heroes & Generals just might be your next shooter.

One of the most impressive aspects to Heroes & Generals is the absolute scope of the experience. While other shooters’ matches are completed at the end of the round, you’re not done with your time in service until the war is over, soldier. Instead of just picking your favorite map to play, you need to select where the action is taking place on a real-time war map to conquer strategic points all over europe, and eventually wipe out the enemy base in their home territory. Freeing up objective points later determines supply lines and spawn points for future maps which will determine if certain classes and vehicles like tanks and air support will be available in future conflicts. Without a doubt, players have more of an impact on the world in this shooter than any other shooter on the market. It is impressive, to say the least, and it makes for one of the most immersive World War II experiences that can be found on the market.

While it is still in the pre-beta phase, H&G is making great strides every day. Graphically, it holds its own with some gorgeous lighting effects, including day and night modes. It has some fantastic weapon and vehicle models. And the conflict maps themselves are highly detailed. They vary in terrain. They feel authentic to the time period. And they’re huge. You can create your own soldiers, modify and customize weapons, create squads, and more. You get all the bells and whistles that you’ve come to know and love with modern online shooters.

Once you’ve enlisted and you’ve been tossed into the thick of it, you can play as any type of soldier and pilot just about any type of vehicle from the time period. Want to jump out of a plane as an airborne infantryman? You can do that. Want to drive a Tiger or a Sherman? You can do that too. Someone destroy your jeep and you need to get to the next objective point to join up with your company and you found someone’s abandoned bicycle on the side of the road? Yea… you can ride that.

Gunplay is fast and furious within Heroes & Generals. You are not a bullet sponge (thankfully) and spawn points can sometimes be pretty far away, so you’ll think twice before sticking your head out into the open without finding some cover first. Weapons features include bullet drop, barrel climbing, and limited ammo. To make matters more dire, excess ammo is spent every time you reload so it’s always choice to wait till the last minute to switch magazines.

Reto-Moto is working very closely with Nvidia for this project and the music is composed by the award-winning Jesper Kyd, the composer of the Assassin’s Creed series soundtracks. The game continues to improve every day with new maps and models being added, and the team continues to tweak bugs, gameplay balance issues, and increasing server support to one day hold 32 vs. 32 player matches. Depending on development, that number may actually increase.

Needless to say, Heroes & Generals is shaping up quite nicely. We can’t wait for the finished product so we can give it a full review. The devs are being very responsive with community feedback and are running an open door development policy to create the best game possible. In the meantime if you’d like to partake in the war (and help the devs create a better game), you can apply for a pre-beta key at the H&G website.