Simple, addicting, and moving

Posted on 2009-03-28 13:06:11 by captfitz:

You haven't played a game like Cannon Fodder before. It has the simplest of controls: just the mouse and its two buttons, which are used to guide your squad of men around the map and tell them what to shoot at. This simplicity is what really makes the game work, and makes it so addicting. It's easy to keep playing "just one more" of the quick, action-packed missionsread more late into the night. And when this happens you will see the game's real depth: beneath the whimsical cartoon graphics is a message about the cost of war that will start to weigh down on you as the hill above the recruitment center in the games inter-mission menu fills with memorials for your fallen troops. You begin to get attached to your troops, who will gain rank as long as you keep them alive and fighting, and can become 'heroes.' The game hammers this sentiment home with pointedly brash dialog, and a nice stream of people constantly waiting at your recruitment center, looking very expendable.
The only flaw I found with the game is how hard it gets later. Like, pick-up-your-keyboard-and-break-it-over-your-knee-even-though-it-had-nothing-to-do-with-your-failure hard. But it can be done, and it's all the more rewarding when you do complete a killer mission.
At $6 and about a 30 second download, you are just moments away from a really remarkable gaming experience that you can play on any computer you own. Don't skip this one, you haven't played anything like it.