The game advertises itself as letting players "fight the famous battles of WWII". The game features multiple settings from Europe and North Africa, such as a nuclear reactor in Berlin, castles, etc. Players can assume the roles of three different soldiers each with different skills: Captain Ross, a British Commando and brute fighter, Lieutenant Bull, an Army Ranger sniper, or Major Taggert, a stealthy covert operative. Each character also has a special skill: Captain Ross can use his strength to push things out of the way, Lieutenant Bull can climb ropes, and Major Taggert can pick locks. Players are able to drive any vehicles they find such as Kubelwagens, Sherman tanks, Panzers, and Tiger tanks. A player's health is automatically restored if a player avoids damage for a short while and stands still. A stamina meter also controls how fast a player can run. The single-player campaign lasts approximately five to seven hours.
The game received substantially negative reviews from critics. On the review aggregatorGameRankings, the game had an average score of 38.05% based on 39 reviews. On Metacritic, the game had an average score of 37 out of 100, based on 33 reviews. In IGN's 5.7 review, they criticized the lack of originality, the multiplayer portion, and the graphics, saying, "Hour of Victory is a mediocre shooter with bad graphics and terrible multiplayer." GameSpot's review was particularly scathing, with Jeff Gerstmann scoring the game just 2 out of 10, saying the game "is practically broken and has no business being on shelves in its current state" and "no one, under any circumstances, should play this game." As the only 'pro' in the pro and con section of the review, Gerstmann wrote, "thankfully, no one is forcing you to play this game." GameSpot went on to name it the "Flat-Out Worst Game" of 2007. The game received the following 9 demerits: Bad Sound Effects, Bad Value, Busted, Broken and Buggy, Derivative, Shallow, Short, Stripped, and Weak Story. ScrewAttack made it a SAGY nominee for Worst 360 game of the year. Eurogamer also gave the 2 out of 10, whilst GameCentral marked it even lower, giving it only 1 out of 10. Maxim was, however, much more appreciative of the game, giving it 4 out of 5. Official Xbox Magazine UK gave the game a rating of 6 out of 10. Official Xbox Magazine rated this game a 2.5 out of 10 and gave it the "Worst 'Value' of the Year" Award in the OXM 2007 Game of the Year Awards.
