The MS-DOS version of Cannon Fodder was ported by Audio Visual Magic Ltd., and was not the first version of Cannon Fodder released (as some seem to think – I’m looking at you, Moby Games). No – the original version of Cannon Fodder was the Amiga version, which was developed by Sensible Software themselves.

The PC MS-DOS port of Cannon Fodder did come out the same year as the Amiga original, though – in 1993. Which probably contributes to the confusion.

That said: playing the PC version of Cannon Fodder does have a few drawbacks, probably because it was not developed in-house. The main issue I have with this port is the speed of the game, which is too fast, although back in 1993 most PC owners had 386s. And before you start saying: “set it up properly in DOSBox!” – I did, and tried the game in countless configurations. The main game still ran too fast. Plus: I played this game a lot on PC during the mid-Nineties and I remember it running too fast on original hardware. So the speed issue is not an emulator issue.

The increased speed of the game means that you’ve got to be more precise with your mouse-clicks, and have very good concentration, while you’re playing. Much more so than when playing the more forgiving, slightly slower original.

The DOS version of Cannon Fodder isn’t bad, but I’d argue that it’s not the best version of the game available. Unless you prefer the faster speed.

A sequel – Cannon Fodder 2 – was released for MS-DOS the following year, in 1994, but it unfortunately didn’t quite hit the same mark that this first game did. Both Cannon Fodder 1 & 2 are currently still available on GOG.com (at the time of writing).

More: Cannon Fodder on Wikipedia
GOG: Cannon Fodder on GOG.com