Cannon Fodder

"Don't wait 'til you see the whites of their eyes... Don't kid yourself it will be over by Christmas... Don't try to shut out the screams... And don't forget to wash your hand afterwards..."

Cannon Fodder is a shoot 'em up developed by Sensible Software and published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment for the Amiga in 1993. Virgin ported the game to MS-DOS, the Atari ST and the Acorn Archimedes, as well as the Atari Jaguar, Mega Drive, SNES and 3DO. The game is military-themed and based on shooting action with squad-based tactics. The player directs troops through numerous missions, battling enemy infantry, vehicles and installations.

Cannon Fodder has a darkly humorous tone which commentators variously praised and condemned. Its creators intended it to convey an anti-war message, which some reviewers recognised, but the Daily Star and a number of public figures derided the game. Other reviewers highly praised the game, which widely achieved scores of over 90% in Amiga magazines. Amiga Action awarded it an unprecedented score, calling it the best game of the year.

Gameplay

Cannon Fodder is a military-themed action game with strategy and shoot 'em up elements. The player controls a small squad of up to a maximum of six soldiers, depending on the mission. These soldiers are armed with machine guns which kill enemy infantry with a single round. The player's troops are similarly fragile and while they possess superior firepower at the game's outset, the enemy infantry becomes more powerful as the game progresses. As well as foot soldiers, the antagonists include vehicles such as Jeeps, tanks and helicopters as well as missile-armed turrets. The player must also destroy buildings which spawn enemy soldiers. For these targets, which are invulnerable to machine gun fire, the player must utilise secondary, explosive weaponry: grenades and rockets. Ammunition for these weapons is limited and the player must find supply crates to replenish their troops. Wasting these weapons can potentially result in the player not having enough to fulfil the mission objectives. The player can opt to shoot crates - destroying enemy troops and buildings in the ensuing explosion - at less risk to their soldiers than retrieving them, but again at a greater risk of depleting ammunition.

The player proceeds through 24 missions divided into several levels each, making 72 levels in all. There are various settings including jungle, snow, and desert, some with unique terrain features and vehicles such as igloos and snowmobiles. The player must also contend with rivers (crossing which soldiers are slowed and cannot fire) and quicksand as well as mines and other booby traps. In addition to shooting action, the game features strategy elements and employs a point-and-click control system more common to strategy than action games. As the player's troops are heavily outnumbered and easily killed, they must use caution, as well as careful planning and positioning. To this end, they can split the squad into smaller units to take up separate positions or risk fewer soldiers when moving into dangerous areas.