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Cannon Fodder was originally developed by Sensible Software, and published by Virgin Interactive for the P.C., Amiga, and
Atari ST in 1994. It achieved cult hit status on the home computer front, and thus, was deemed worthy of a port to the Atari
Jaguar. The Jaguar port was released in the spring of 1995. At it's core, Cannon Fodder is a unique, squad based, take on
the RTS genre, using a cartoon style and an energetic soundtrack to mask the violence inherent in any war game.
The story appears to be "kill the enemy". That's all. There is a lot of humor to be found in the cut-scenes
and in the game itself, but not a whole lot of story. This doesn't detract from the game though. As a matter of fact, the
absence of a half-hearted attempt by the developer to include a tacked on, mediocre story just to have one is a bonus in this
type of game (or any type of game, really). It allows the gamer to focus on the fun to be had, and allows the developer not
to waste the gamer's time with needlessly long and tedious cut-scenes.
Cannon Fodder provides a very basic experience for today's gamer used to a variety of modes and choices. All in all,
there is only the main game with which to be content, but it is enough. You are tasked with taking your raw recruits and
turning them into soldiers tough enough to complete the twenty-four missions tasked to you by the game. To this end, you
are able to utilize a variety of weapons (such as hand grenades and rocket launchers) and vehicles (such as jeeps and "Choppas"
or helicopters to the uninitiated) during the twenty-four missions. In all, there is plenty here to keep you busy for quite
a while to come, and since this cart can be had at a bargain bin price, it is a good value as well.
This game-play should be viewed as a shooter in the guise of an RTS. It requires all the skills of a great shooter;
memorization, quick thinking, reflexes, planning ahead, but also requires many of the skills know to the RTS genre; resource
management, troop management, tactical planning. This creates a unique style of game-play, and uniqueness is in short supply
now days. Each mission has a goal to achieve, whether it be killing all the enemies or blowing up all the enemy buildings.
There isn't a great deal of variety in objectives, so there is some feeling of repetition from time to time, but it is never
enough to spoil the game. Sometimes the difficulty of the game is increased due to the control scheme utilized.
This brings us to my biggest complaint about the game, the control scheme. Cannon Fodder is simply easier to play on
a PC with a keyboard and mouse. There is no way around it. This is the great failing, not of Cannon Fodder in particular,
but of the RTS genre as represented on consoles in general. A control pad doesn't give the gamer enough control in an RTS,
and Cannon Fodder on the Jaguar is no exception. That's not to say it is unplayable, uncontrollable, or not fun, because
it is blessed with adequate control, but the control scheme is just that, adequate.
Cannon Fodder's graphics are adequate for the genre. There is no appreciable drop off from the PC version of the game.
Having said that, they are not pushing the limits of the Jag by any stretch of the imagination. The sprites are large (for
the type of game) and colorful. It is easy to tell the enemy units apart, and everything looks like it should. The varying
terrain is well rendered and bright. It is easy to distinguish different terrain types and water depths (which is important
since your troops can't fire out of deep water). Of particular note are the snow and ice missions. Cut scenes are well done
(and quite humorous), and the graphical style goes a long way in taking the edge off the violent nature of the game-play.
All of this leaves us with only the audio to examine. The background music is of a decent quality and quite fitting
for the game. Sound effects are particularly well done, and also serve well the overall feel of the game. From the screams
of the wounded, to the odd noise enemy corpses make as your troops shoot them across the screen, each sound effect feels proper
in it's place in the game and helps dramatically with the overall immersion level of Cannon Fodder. Had the sound effects
been poorly done, the game would have lost a great deal of it's immersive feel.
Cannon Fodder is a rarity, a fun, uniquely styled game. It has much to offer fans of shooters and RTS style games,
but controls issues and difficulty in some places may be too much for the casual gamer. Overall, Cannon Fodder is highly
recommended to the Jaguar owner in search of squad based, military mayhem. Don't be afraid of a challenge.
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4 out of 5
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