Tuesday 18 January 2011

CANNON FODDER 3 in development.

Unexpected news.


A little-known outfit called GFI Games is developing a third game in the Cannon Fodder series. This was startling because the previous installment in the series - which, as might be guessed, was called Cannon Fodder 2 - was released in 1994. Whilst a reboot/remake of the first game might be expected - Starbreeze are working on a new version of the classic Syndicate whilst a new version of X-Com is also in development - a new sequel is a surprising move.

Cannon Fodder was released in 1993 by legendary Amiga developers Sensible Software and was a major success. Using isometric graphics, the game depicted a group of soldiers fighting against various bad guys using a number of different weapons. The game was noted for its dark sense of humour - corpses could be mutilated, and passing animals gunned down - and also a satirical streak. The game displayed a graveyard where each one of your soldiers (each individually named) was buried after being killed. Players who were profligate with their soldiers' lives would find the screen buried in white crosses. The game also used some Remembrance Day imagery such as the red poppy, causing a minor burst of controversy. The sequel, using the same engine and a loopy time travel plot, was not as accomplished.

The new game will apparently be in 3D, but will maintain the overhead isometric viewpoint and the same gameplay as the original. It will be released by Codemasters.

EDIT: Weird. The game is being developed only for Russia and CIS territories, with no European or American release planned at this time. And the original developers are apparently unaware of what's going on.

1 comment:

great_o'rety said...

Following your post I went to RP&S and somehow ended up reading about Peter Molynoux and then Eric Chahi, maker of Another World (Out of This World in North America). Looks like it wasn't that coincidental because he seems to be working on a game he admits being 'a heir to Populous'. So that you mentioned a Cannon Fodder overhaul, a Syndicate and X-Com sequels, it seems fitting to take a look at this shot in the forgotten god-games genre. Here's the interview with Chahi: http://www.facebook.com/notes/project-dust/qa-with-project-dust-creative-director-eric-chahi/125651140808038