Cannon Fodder 2

Cannon Fodder 2
Covert art for Cannon Fodder 2
Developer(s)	Sensible Software
Publisher(s)	Virgin Interactive
Designer(s)	Stuart Campbell
Programmer(s)	Jools Jameson
Artist(s)	Stuart Cambridge, John Lillee
Writer(s)	Stuart Campbell
Platform(s)	Amiga, IBM PC compatible
Release date(s)	November 1994
Genre(s)	Action,strategy,shoot 'em up,shooter

Cannon Fodder 2: Once More unto the Breach, also known as Cannon Fodder 2 is an action-strategy shoot 'em up game developed by Sensible Software and published by Virgin Interactive for the Amiga and DOS in November 1994. The game is the sequel to Cannon Fodder, a successful game released for multiple formats in 1993. The game is a combination of action and strategy involving a small number of soldiers battling through a time-travel scenario. The protagonists are heavily outnumbered and easily killed. The player must rely on strategy and heavy secondary weapons to overcome enemies, their vehicles and installations.

The game retained the mechanics and gameplay of its predecessor but introduced new levels, settings and graphics. Former journalist Stuart Campbell designed the game's levels, making them harder and more tactically demanding, as well as introducing a multitude of pop culture references in the level titles. The development of the game's plot was hampered by budget constraints and the resulting lack of explanation confused reviewers. Critics enjoyed the gameplay retained from the original Cannon Fodder but were disappointed at the lack of new mechanics or weapons, comparing the game to a data disk. Reviewers praised the game's level design, though less so those of its alien planet. Critics gave Cannon Fodder 2 positive reviews but lower scores than its predecessor and gave mixed criticism of the new theme music and increased difficulty.

Cannon Fodder 2 is a military-themed action game with strategy and shoot 'em up elements. The player controls a small squad of up to four 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 and 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.