While the video game business might not be described as the most rigid of industries when compared to most typical corporate jobs, much thought and planning go into the development of each and every title released. The video game business is hard core and is still, in many ways, a cottage industry at heart. This leads to programmers spending much time away from the office working on side projects at home. We heard a lot about this from the programmers themselves last year when we had the chance to visit with them at the ATI Mojo Day Event .

Over the years, some of these side projects have been crafted into really great titles. Still, it takes a very smart company to really pay attention to what their programmers are working on in their various side projects. In many cases programmers don't share the details of their side projects with their current employers. In the case of Steel Battalion, however, this side project has become what we would consider a benchmark by which all other internal side projects will be measured.

Capcom was very smart to recognize the potential of Steel Battalion to deliver an impressive gaming experience beyond what can be found in the majority of video games today by including what we consider to be the most innovative controller setup that we have ever seen.

As is pointed out in this review, innovation comes in many forms. No doubt the potential that this side project offered Capcom was to deliver an experience, rather than just the typical video game. Let's dig in a little deeper and find out more about Steel Battalion.