Cannon Fodder (video game)

Cannon Fodder
Amiga cover art of Cannon Fodder
Developer(s)	Sensible Software
Publisher(s)	Virgin Interactive
Designer(s)	Jon Hare
Programmer(s)	Jools Jameson
Artist(s)	Stoo Cambridge
Series	Cannon Fodder
Engine	Sensible Soccer (modified)
Platform(s)	Amiga, Amiga CD32,Atari ST,MS-DOS,Acorn Archimedes,3DO,Atari Jaguar,Sega Mega Drive/Genesis,SNES,Game Boy Color
Release	December 1993
Genre(s)	Action, strategy, shoot 'em up
Mode(s)	Single player

Review scores
Publication	Score
EGM	7.75/10 (JAG) 8.875/10 (3DO)
Amiga Down Under	95%
Amiga Format	95%
Amiga Action	94%
Amiga Computing	94%
Amiga Power	94%
Amiga User International	93%
Next Generation	(JAG, 3DO)
The One	93%
CU Amiga	93%

Cannon Fodder is an action-strategy shoot 'em up game developed by Sensible Software and published by Virgin Interactive for the Amiga in 1993. Virgin ported the game to home computer systems MS-DOS, the Atari ST and the Archimedes, and the consoles Jaguar, Mega Drive, SNES and 3DO. The game is military-themed and based on shooting action but with a strategy game-style control system. 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. In other respects, 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.

Cannon Fodder is a military-themed action game with strategy and shoot 'em up elements. The player controls a small squad of up to five soldiers. 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 fire-power 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 his 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 his soldiers than retrieving them, but again at a greater risk of depleting ammunition.