Mark McGwire has a place in baseball’s hall of fame. So too will Michael Jordan be immortalized by his sport. They have no need to tout  their accomplishments, their actions thunder louder than any publicist’s rant.

Not so, however, in the world of computer gaming. It takes more than a brilliant game to warrant the type of accolades reaped by McGwire and Jordan. It takes, well... money. Money to hire publicists, money to pour into advertisements, money to buy licenses, money to fly a demo team to major magazines, money for T-shirts, ball caps or what have you for said magazines, and money for money’s sake (your business cards have to look hip, your stationary expensive, your complimentary pens cool). Without money, you’re small time, and small time companies just don’t generate buzz.

Battlefront.com is a small time company. Comprised of founders Charles Moylan and Steve Grammont, and assisted by a handful of contractors, the company’s yearly operating budget is probably less than Blizzard’s monthly Diablo II marketing outlay. The games it sells are only available through its website, and it measures success one sale at a time. Yet this tiny shop has produced what may be remembered as the most innovative game in its genre’s history. Unfortunately, lack of marketing pull (read money) and the game’s genre (read wargame) prevent it from receiving the recognition it deserves. 

Does the phrase “turn-based orders/real-time action hybrid” mean anything to you? It should, because within the next 24 months you’ll see it dominate a genre within the gaming industry. And you’ll remember that Battlefront.com’s Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord was the game that fathered the revolution.