After many months of hard work, delays and endless "what's taking so long?" threads, we are very pleased to announce that Darkest Hour Beta 3.0 will be available via Steam on Friday the 5th of June, 2009, just in time for the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings (not to mention Darkest Hour's 1st birthday).
Built on the award-winning Steam favorite, Red Orchestra, Darkest Hour brings the classic RO multiplayer experience to the beaches of Normandy, Operation Market-Garden, the Battle of the Bulge and on into the Reich. Now you can play as American, British or Canadian troops, with a huge range of additional features including:
More than 20 new infantry weapons, such as the ever-distinctive Garand, M1 Carbine, .30-cal, Bren, FG42, Thompson and the Enfield rifles
American Bazooka, British PIAT and German Panzerschreck to go tank-hunting with
New infantry features, including Airborne drops onto the battlefield, bullet suppression and supersonic cracks, plus a new radioman class for calling in artillery strikes
Dozens of new uniforms for all nations
Over a dozen new crewable vehicles including the King Tiger and JagdPanther for the Germans, countered with multiple types of Sherman in 75mm, 76mm and 17-pounder versions, plus the Cromwell, M10 Wolverine and Achilles
New armor features, including engine damage and fires, crew hits and tracks visibly breaking when hit
More transport – Kubelwagen, Jeep and Opel truck
11 new maps, including:
Juno Beach – Canadians storming the beaches in classic D-Day action
Carentan – the US 101st Airborne assaults the town shortly after D-Day
Brecourt – 101st Airborne attempt to put a key German artillery battery out of commission behind the beaches
Vieux – vast sweeping armored combat as the British attempt to break out during Operation Goodwood in Normandy
Ginkel Heath – British paras drop into a hotly-contested LZ at the start of Operation Market-Garden
Wacht-am-Rhein – sweeping tank combat during the Battle of the Bulge, including the fearsome King Tiger
Stoumont – American infantry and armor try and hold back the SS PanzerGrenadiers in the streets of the Ardennes town
Bois Jacques – tenacious American defense against the combined German tank and infantry forces
Foy – the Germans’ turn to defend against attacking American airborne troopers
So whether it is the Normandy campaign, jumping onto the dropzones around Arnhem or the bitter fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, new and old players alike will get a chance to see why RO remains a classic. Now with the opportunity to re-play those battles RO-style, courtesy of Darkest Hour: Europe 1944-45!
See you all on the battlefield!
-Notice- Looks like the release will slip as the internet went down at Valve HQ during the upload phase earlier today. I am told it will be up Monday.