Cannon Fodder

 Over the past decade or so we've seen a huge boom in video games based on wars with the likes of the record breaking Call of Duty series, Battlefield and Medal of Honour all selling by the bucket load. These games are released almost every year and often met with huge critical acclaim despite often portraying war as something glamorous and sexy. This wasn't always the case and in 1993 when Sensible Software released point and click action adventure game “Cannon Fodder” they were met by a huge wave of disgust from the likes of the Royal British Legion and a number of MP's.

 

Unlike modern war games like Call of Duty, Sensible didn't feel the need to glorify war to make Cannon Fodder fun. Instead of making war attractive Sensible looked at the loss of life due to war, something the game reflects amazingly well with each soldier on your team being given a name when they are fighting and later a tombstone when they are dead (as well as their name put on a list of casualties at the end of the level).

Almost 20 years after the release of Cannon Fodder, few games have given war such a raw feeling, a feeling of wars being about a loss not about killing people but about people dying. A subtle difference but a difference all the same. Though of course there is much more to Cannon Fodder than merely the aspect of death.

  

Unlike many modern war based games Cannon Fodder doesn't rely on you needing to pick head shots but instead look after your troops as you complete numerous missions, such as saving hostages or killing the enemy. This is done via the player needing to use various forms of strategy, such as leaving a soldier on the beach to provide cover for another soldier swimming across a small river or leaving a soldier shooting a barracks whilst another soldier gets a box of grenades. Whilst the strategies are generally quite simple the game it's self is incredibly deep, both on a gameplay level and as a look at war.

Of course with the game being almost 20 years old it's not fared well on the graphics front, especially not compared to modern day war games, which have been described by some as “so realistic they could be from a real warzone”. Yet the graphics do their job of showing the different terrain, the enemy and the player as well as the various items and vehicles that the player needs to see. Likewise the in-game music isn't as impressive as modern games but it does it's job...and in fact the theme tune is one of video games all time great tacks.

Whilst the game does look aged and was controversial at the time at it's heart it's a fun strategy game with a sprinkling of dark humour and a look at war that is much more sombre than other war based video games. It's a truly tremendous game that simply needs to be played by every gamer.

 

89%

Details:
Console-Sega Mega Drive, SNES, Amiga, Gameboy (and others)
Release-1993
Developer-Sensible Software
Genre-Strategy
Players-1

Quote take from: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3883630/Video-game-Battlefield-looks-frighteningly-like-the-real-thing.html

Trivia-
The games theme song was professionally recorded and can be listened to below thanks to gazchap

Kid Chameleon

 Now a days every other game seems to be a bland looking first person shooter (FPS) but back in the 1990's games were more often than not platformers. Of course the kings of platform were Mario (on the Nintendo systems) and Sonic (on the Sega systems) though this didn't stop other platformers from being incredibly good games such as this one, Kid Chameleon.



The back story of the game is pretty meaningless but you're effectively playing a game inside a game. The local arcade has a new virtual reality game, called "Wildside" which has been abducting it's players and you, as Kid Chameleon must defeat the game and save the kids who have been taken by the game. Despite having such a pointless story the game it's self is actually excellent.

Although platformers were the big thing of the 1990's Kid Chameleon differentiated it's self from most of the other platform games of the era in a number of ways. Firstly, unlike most platform games you're not stuck in a single form, in fact Kid Chameleon sees the player taking 10 different forms, each with their own power. These range from the Kid (a child in jeans) to an Iron Knight (who can climb vertical walls) to Hovercraft rider (who can ride on the roof of levels). It's these helmets that give the game not only extra depth but also different strategies. For example you may wish to keep the "Cyclone" helmet which can fly to get through some levels or you may which to keep the Maniaxe mask which allows you to throw axes at enemies from a distance.

As well as the number of different forms (and strategies) a player can use to get through the game the game also stands out from the rest of the platformers on it's sheer size. The game in total features over 100 levels, and whilst you won't have to visit them all you will have to visit a lot of them (unless you use a cheat). Whilst this makes the game very long it's also rather frustrating as the game features neither a password system nor a save feature (at least in it's original form). This generally means most players will never manage to complete the game despite a number of shortcuts in the game.

Despite being one of the toughest games ever to actually complete it's also a game that has so much wealth to it that it's actually impossible to hate. The various helmets add so much to the game that always feels so fresh and original even when you've played through it before.

Whilst some of the graphics and some of the sound does fall below the standard of the gameplay it's merely a minor complaint (much like the games length) and you will find yourself really enjoying an excellent and unusual game.

87%

Details:
Console-Sega Mega Drive
Release-1992
Developer-Sega Technical Institute
Genre-2D Platformer
Players-1or 2

Trivia- To player can complete the game by completing as little as 3 levels by skipping from the 2nd level to the final level.

SPOILERS/MEGA CHEAT
At the end of Blue Lake Woods 2 you need to jump on the last prize block above the flag, then press Right/Down + Jump. You will skip one to the final level "Plethora".

Super Mario World

In 1990 Nintendo released their Super Famicom (SNES) and as a pack in title they included Super Mario World, one of the games that set the tone for the era that would follow, the Nintendo v Sega wars of the 1990's.

Super Mario World sees the player playing as the titular character in a 2D platform adventure game that not set the gold standard of Platforming for the following decade or so but actually set the standard for gaming as a whole.Not only did it build on the excellent Mario franchise but it added so much that it really just showed why Nintendo were at the forefront of video games.

The story, as with most Mario games sees the plucky plumber trying to defeat Bowser and save Princess Peach but the game it's self has so much more than just the simple story to offer. Firstly you have the excellent levels which are designed to be replayable, fun and yet also challenging. As well as the levels you have the charm of the Sonic universe, the power ups, the moves and new addition Yoshi, who you can ride about on during the game.

The graphics are charming through out and whilst they now don't look anything special they did their job
wonderfully well and are clear through out (something you do admittedly expect in a Mario game). Like wise the music in the game is equally as charming despite being very simple and limited (in fact much of it is the same tune just altered in terms of speed). This leaves the game feeling just as charm to look at and listen to as it is to actually play.

Whilst we do genuinely love the game it isn't beyond fault, most notable the complexities of some levels (though by some we are literally talking about a handful) which seem to expect the player to do things that just feel relatively out place. Other than this however the game is pretty much flawless, both as a 1 player game or as a 2-player game (where 1 player controls Luigi). With a story that will last you for a few weeks (even longer if you want to unlock all the secret content) and a game with so much charm it simple oozes brilliance, it's easy to over look the occasional flaw.

To sum this game up all I can say is that you've never played it, get it and lock yourself in a room until you've complete it.


97%

Details:

Console-Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Release-1990
Developer-Nintendo EAD
Genre-2D Platformer
Players-1or 2

Trivia-
The game was the debut of Yoshi who would return in the sequel- "Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island" amongst many other games.